The specifics of China’s participation in the international human rights regime: evolution and present state

In recent years, People’s Republic of China human rights policy has been focused both on national human rights protection system improvement and on active international cooperation. The paper is aimed at revealing the specifics of China's participation in the international human rights regime. The present study has defined the main factors in the formation of the Chinese model of human rights protection, as well as has identified the stages of China's integration into the global human rights system. To determine the characteristics of modern Chinese human rights diplomacy, the author has analyzed Chinese representatives’ public statements on China’s role in international human rights mechanisms. China’s activity in the UN Human Rights Council was also studied. According to the results of the study, the author made following conclusions: 1. The PRC's entry into the international human rights regime was slowed down by historical and political factors, such as specific treatment of the concept of state sovereignty, as well as the dominance of Confucian morality in China, which formed Chinese view on rights and obligations differently from the West. 2. The integration of the PRC into the international human rights regime was successful due to China’s reform and opening-up policies, as the PRC government took measures to improve China’s international image. 3. Despite China’s legislation and adaptation of international norms, many aspects of Chinese human rights policy are still widely criticized by the UN human rights mechanisms. In turn, China seeks both to reduce the amount of criticism and to popularize its own point of view on the nature of international norms. The PRC strategy in this area is aimed at forming a coalition of like-minded countries by means of developing international cooperation initiatives with developing countries. Thus, today the PRC is increasing its influence in international human rights institutions and is getting an opportunity to transform them in accordance with the Chinese interpretation.