Hongsong Liu is an associate professor in School of International and Diplomatic Affairs at Shanghai International Studies University (SISU), China. He is also a senior research fellow in Centre for European Union Studies at SISU. He earned a PhD in political science from Fudan University in China in January 2008. His research interests include international organizations, global governance and Chinese foreign policy. His publications have appeared in leading Chinese IR journals such as World Economy and Politics, Studies of International Politics, Foreign Affairs Review, Chinese Journal of European Studies, Contemporary International Relations and International Review.

He is a visiting fellow in Centre for International Studies at London School of Economics and Political Science from September 2013 to August 2014. He received research grants from Chinese Philosophy and National Social Science Foundation, Ministry of Education of China, Shanghai Philosophy and Social Science Foundation, Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, Shanghai Education Development Foundation, among others. In 2011, Ministry of Education of China awarded him an honor of New Century Excellent Talent in University.

Among his recent publications are listed:

Book:

• 2010. Informal Regimes in Global Nonproliferation System. Shanghai, China: Shanghai People’s Press. (in Chinese)

Articles:

• 2013. Why the Formation of International Institutions was not in Accordance with the US Preference in the Post-Cold War Era. World Economy and Politics, No. 8: 68-85. (in Chinese)
• 2012. An Appraisal of Democratic Compliance Theory (co-authored with Xiaotian Zhang). Teaching and Research, No. 12: 55-60. (in Chinese)
• 2012. The Three Hallmarks on whether China’s peaceful development Road Can Succeed (co-authored with Renwei Huang). International Review, No. 5: 1-6. (in Chinese)
• 2011. China’s Compliance with the WTO Rules: A Comprehensive Assessment. Teaching and Research, No. 11: 22-30. (in Chinese)
• 2010. China’s Responsibility-Taking in International Governance. Journal of Social Sciences, No. 10: 13-19. (in Chinese)
• 2010. Why States Choose Informal International Regimes. World Economy and Politics, No. 10: 73-96. (in Chinese)
• 2010. Informal International Regimes and Global Welfare. International Review, No. 4: 11-19. (in Chinese)
• 2009. China’s International Organization Diplomacy: Attitude, Behavior and Achievements. International Review, No.6: 1-8. (in Chinese)
• 2009. The Dilemmas of Multilateral Export Control Regimes: From the Perspective of Informal International Regimes, Studies of International Politics, No. 3: 124-142. (in Chinese)
• 2009. China’s Engagement in Informal International Institutions: the Cases of APEC and ARF. Global Review, No. 1: 42-54. (in Chinese)
• 2009. An Analysis on the Difference between Formal and Informal International Regimes. Chinese Journal of European Studies, No. 3: 91-106. (in Chinese)
• 2008. The Persistent Maintenance of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Regime. Studies of International Politics, No. 4: 92-104. (in Chinese)
• 2007. The Hegemonic Power’s Limited Participation in the Institutions of Multilateralism: the Case of the U.S. Participation in ASEAN Regional Forum. Foreign Affairs Review, No. 4: 67-76. (in Chinese)

The paper now published in the Special Edition of RBPI is entitled “China’s Proposing Behavior in Global Governance: the Cases of the WTO Doha Round Negotiation and G-20 Process”. The paper explores the aspect of China’s participation in global governance which has not been paid sufficient attention to, and examine China’s proposing behavior in global governance and its main features by clarifying China’s reform proposals in the WTO Doha Round negotiation and the G-20 process.

Professor Hongsong Liu conceded an interview about his article to Bruno Basílio Rissi.

Interview about “China’s Proposing Behavior in Global Governance: the Cases of the WTO Doha Round Negotiation and G-20 Process”, with Hongsong Liu

Bruno Basílio Rissi

1) Why do you believe that China’s pro-activity regarding proposals for institutional design or reform has been an ignored phenomenon?

Based on a relatively comprehensive literature review, I found it an ignored phenomenon. I think this probably results from most scholars’ belief that China is going on its way of being integrated into international society and therefore China is a rule-taker rather than a rule-shaper.

2) Along the article it becomes clear the existence of a Chinese concern for developing countries. Such stance is explained based on China’s interest as well as on China’s empathy to the principled pro-development idea. In this sense, what would be these interests and why does China nourishe given developing principles?

In some cases, China’s concern for developing countries can be explained in terms of its interests. For instance, China would benefit from increasing the representation and voice of developing countries in international financial institutions. Also, China would be a beneficiary of the reform of anti-dumping rules in the WTO.

I think there are two reasons for China’s empathy to the pro-development idea. First, since China is still a developing country albeit the largest one, China is fully aware of the importance of development for developing countries based on its own experience; Second, China has developed cooperative relationship or partnership with many developing countries in a wide range of international affairs, which led to China’s support for developing principles its partners preferred in the reform of global economic governance, although China could not benefit from such a reform in terms of its interests.

3) Beyond the already acknowledged Chinese prominence concerning international economic governance and its institutions, as pointed out in the article through G-20 and WTO, in which other spheres has China demonstrating greater influence and how?

In addition to international economic governance, China has demonstrated its pro-activities regarding institutional design or reform on the issues of the UN reform, global climate change governance and development aid. In terms of the UN reform and global change governance, China’s influence was exerted through proposing behavior the article discusses. In the case of development aid, China exerted pressures on the existing development regime in the OECD framework with its unique style of providing foreign aid and its cooperation with other BRICS countries in building BRICS Development Bank. Unlike China’s proposing behavior in WTO and G20, China’s influence on the OECD development aid regime was exerted through its practice of alternative models.

4) Is it important that an alternate view on China - other than northern countries’ - is being published in southern countries like Brazil? Why?

Yes. Because scholars from Brazil and other southern countries can understand China’s role in global governance from a perspective other than northern countries’ by reading it, and its publication can help promote the exchange of academic views on how to reform global governance through southern countries’ cooperative efforts between Chinese and Brazilian scholars as well as scholars from other southern countries.

Read the article:

LIU, Hongsong. China’s proposing behavior in Global Governance: the cases of the WTO Doha Round negotiation and G-20 process. Rev. bras. polít. int., Brasília , v. 57, n. spe, 2014 . Available from <http://www.scielo.br/article_plus.php?pid=S0034-73292014000300121&tlng=en&lng=en>. access on 18 Oct. 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0034-7329201400208.

Bruno Basílio Rissi is a member of the Tutorial Education Program in International Relations - PET/REL and a member of the Laboratory of analysis in International Relations - LARI ([email protected] )