The Bene-Ideal: China’s Cosmopolitan Vision of World Order

Abstract

With the rise of China in modern global affairs, the construction of a Chinese international relations (IR) theory that accounts for both its distinctive vision of world order and its overall foreign policy position has become a topical issue. This essay proposes a cosmopolitan approach to Chinese IR centered on the concept of bene-ideal, by which I mean the cosmopolitan wish to embrace diversity and benefit others with one’s abundance. The bene-ideal framework will contribute at once to Chinese IR construction, foreign policy making, and national identity building.