Confucian values in foreign policy concepts of Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping

From the beginning of the 21st century, Chinese Presidents Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping began to mention Confucian concepts in their speeches. The purpose of this research is to reveal which ideas of Confucianism are used by Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping in their foreign policy concepts and why they incorporate these ideas into their foreign policy strategies. The work consists of an introduction, two chapters, and conclusion. The first chapter is devoted to the study of Confucian ideas in the foreign policy concepts of Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping and the analysis of their speeches. The second chapter examines major events of foreign policy under the presidency of Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping, then compares how Confucian ideas «ideologically served» the foreign policy of two chairmen, and also analyzes why these ideas of Confucianism were chosen by each chairman. The result of this study shows that there is a Confucian value «harmony» in the foreign policy of Hu Jintao. Confucian ideas can be found in the theory of creating Xi Jinping`s «community of common destiny». The leaders of China turned to Confucian values in order to create a more favorable image of the country, to allay the fears of countries about the growing power of the PRC.