China’s International Identity Trilemma: Developing Country, Regional Power or Great Power?

China has adopted many different identities concurrently, rather than a fixed country identity in its foreign policy. China still uses the identity of being a developing country in its relations with the third world, while playing the role of being a regional power in its periphery. On the other hand, it assumes the principle of international responsibility that is attributed to the Great Powers in the international arena. In this context, there is no certainty whether China is a developing country, a regional power or a global power. China's simultaneous possession of multiple identities in foreign policy is the result of the adoption of one or more of the global identities discussed by the International Relations Academy. The focus of the International identity debate is the principle of “never take lead”, (juebu dangtou), which is one of the cornerstones of keeping low profile strategy. In this study, I will discuss the international identity debate in the Chinese Academy in three categories: developing country, regional power and great power. The main argument of the study is that the identity discussions at the Academy are effective in shaping Xi Jinping's “strive for achievement” strategy. These discussions are also very useful to observe which political geography China would like to create an impact on