Like many nations, China’s relationship to the rules-based international order has often featured a selective adherence to those rules and a focus on its own interests, sometimes resulting in violating international laws when they’re at odds with Chinese goals.
But China has the ability and opportunity to transform into a law-abiding member of the rules-based international system, which is founded on relationships among states and through international institutions and frameworks, with shared rules and agreements on behaviour.
The international community can support this transformation by engaging China on global human rights and avoiding what the Chinese government considers interference in internal and territorial affairs.
