New Lowy Institute paper explores four key narratives that help explain the way that China acts in and interprets the world

According to the author, four narratives are key to understanding China’s worldview as it relates to foreign policy: the century of humiliation; cultural characteristics as being inherent and unchanging; history as destiny; and filial piety and familial obligation as they apply both inside China and to China’s neighbours.
The author emphasizes that the narratives also help to explain recent Chinese geo-economic initiatives such as the One Belt, One Road initiative and the AIIB. One Belt, One Road focuses on connectivity and cooperation among countries, principally in Eurasia. The primary purpose of the AIIB is to address the infrastructure needs of the Asia-Pacific. It will do this primarily by funding projects in emerging markets that other international banks are unwilling to fund. Both initiatives reflect the century of humiliation narrative and the idea of history as destiny. The AIIB and One Belt, One Road are portrayed within China as evidence that China is finally overcoming its period of weakness and vulnerability. As one Chinese academic noted to the author, these initiatives represent “a great shift from the idea of just taking care of ourselves.” These initiatives are seen as a way for China to resume its rightful position as a wealthy, strong, and responsible power, at the centre of a web of regional economic interdependence.
Full text at the Lowy Institute official web-site