Paper short abstract:

This paper examines "strategic partnerships" (SPs) as a new framework to understand how Chinese actors engage with those in partner countries. The analysis foregrounds the multi-scalar, sub-state nature of SPs, focusing empirically on Sino-Italian relations as a "typical" case study.

Paper long abstract:

As discussions of a "new cold war" between China and the West intensify, it has never been more important to understand how China engages internationally. With 2,631 projects being implemented under the aegis of the Belt and Road Initiative and a total of $3.7 trillion of global investments, China is at the very heart of contemporary international relations. Crucially, as of 2021 China has established 110 "strategic partnerships" (SPs), without stipulating any formal treaty of alliance, but we know little about SPs and how China uses them, despite their centrality as a foreign policy tool. This paper analyses strategic partnerships as a new form of bilateral interaction that characterises post-Cold War international relations. It argues that strategic partnerships should be understood as a multilevel form of bilateral engagement that involves states but also sub-state entities, including businesses, diasporas and media organisations. To this end, the analysis explores how China - the country that more than any other has made use of strategic partnerships in its foreign policy - has deployed this diplomatic tool in Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on Sino-Italian relations. In doing so, the article shows the adaptability of China's strategic partnership diplomacy. In addition, drawing on the analysis of 1294 news articles published as part of the content-sharing agreement between the Chinese and Italian news agencies Xinhua and Ansa, the paper foregrounds the importance of the ideational component in strategic partnerships, highlighting the image-building purpose that SPs serve.