China's Negotiating Mindset and Strategies: Historical and Cultural Foundations
Faure, G.O., & Zartman, I.W. (Eds.). (2025). China's Negotiating Mindset and Strategies: Historical and Cultural Foundations (1st ed.). Routledge.
Abstract
This book analyzes the mindset with which China enters into negotiations, and applies these insights into contemporary arenas of Chinese activity around the world.
The volume presents and analyses the historical and cultural foundations of Chinese thinking as used in the practice of present-day negotiation. It begins by addressing the essence of Chinese negotiations and the Chinese mindset, turning to a section that presents the cultural foundations of that mindset and strategy. The concepts of Confucianism, Taoism, Yin-Yang, and Chinese military strategy are highlighted. The cases of the Belt-and-Road Initiative and the South and East China Seas are examined to show the application of these concepts, with one addressing business and economic negotiations and the other examining cases of negotiation in geopolitics. Finally, a synthesis of what has been learned is presented, which will contribute to negotiation theory and ultimately will help Western practitioners contemplating negotiation with Chinese diplomats and businesses, as well as being a basis for policy analysts’ understanding of Chinese practices in international relations.
This book will be of much interest to students of international negotiation, foreign policy, business studies, and international relations, as well as practitioners and policymakers.
Contents
1. Introduction - Guy Olivier Faure and I. William Zartman
2. The essence of Chinese negotiation and the Chinese mindset - Guy Olivier Faure
PART I: Cultural Foundations
3. Chinese board games as metaphors of Chinese strategy - Cyrille J.-D. Javary
4. The Confucian approach to negotiation - Shougang Zhang
5. The Yin-Yang Chinese negotiation dance - Tachia Chin
6. Tai Chi and Chinese negotiation behavior - Alisher Faizullaev
PART II: Concepts in action
7. Playing power the Chinese way - Bih-rong Liu
8. Friends and Foes - Yafeng Xia
9. The role of face in negotiations in China - Lihua Zheng
10. Languages of negotiators - Chiou-Fen Kao
PART III: Negotiating business relations
11. Business negotiations - Zhi-Xue Zhang and Li Ma
12. Changing priorities driving China-US trade negotiations - Amy P. Celico
13. Chinese characteristics in EU trade negotiations - Weinian Hu
PART IV: Negotiating geopolitics
14. The Belt and Road to he near-abroad and Central Asia - Maryia Danilovich
15. A tale of two approaches - Frederick Kliem
16. The South China Sea - David A. Welch
17. Unraveling Chinese mindset in he East China Sea - Tetsuro Lji and Yuan-kang Wang
18. Negotiations across the Taiwan Straits - Kao Koong-lian
19. Chinese strategic pragmatism versus Indian brahmanical idealism - Rajesh Kumar
20. Russian perspectives on Chinese negotiating behavior - Mikhail Troitskiy
21: China's negotiating strategy in Africa - David H. Shinn
PART V: Tying the two together
22. Chinese mindset and strategies - Guy Olivier Faure
23. Practicing the mindset - I. William Zartman
About the Editors
Guy Olivier Faure is President of the Diplomatic School of Brussels and member of the Steering Committee of the Processes of International Negotiation (PIN) Program.
I. William Zartman is the Jacob Blaustein Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of The Johns Hopkins University in Washington, and member of the Steering Committee of the Processes of International Negotiation (PIN) Program.
