China's Approach to Human Rights and the UN Human Rights Agenda

Abstract

There is an apprehension in the democratic world about the possible impact of the economic rise of China on the UN human rights agenda. Although Communist China has embraced capitalism by liberalising its economy, by joining the WTO and by recognising private entrepreneurship and the right to private property, it has not been an enthusiastic partner when it comes to promoting and protecting human rights. China has supported the idea of the so-called 'Asian values' or cultural and political relativism as well as promoting the idea of a 'China Model of Democracy' which seeks to support economic growth at the expense of civil and political rights. This article examines China's approach to human rights both within and outside of the UN and whether China's rise as a major economic power poses a threat or offers an opportunity to the international human rights system led by the UN. In doing so, it considers how China is changing in terms of its approach to the rule of law, democracy and human rights and why it needs to become a willing and enthusiastic player within the UN system to promote and protect human rights.

China’s human rights foreign policy in the Xi Jinping era: Normative revisionism shrouded in discursive moderation

“…The PRC government has promoted the right to national subsistence and the right to economic development as the most fundamental human rights (Primiano, 2018; Svensson, 2002; Weatherly, 1999). By placing human rights under state sovereignty and national particularities, China has qualified the universality of liberal human rights norms, discrediting the narrative of universal human rights as a parochial reflection of the Western ideological hegemony (Primiano, 2018; Subedi, 2015). Practically, Beijing has been a vocal critic of country-specific monitoring mechanisms targeting human rights abuses in developing countries (Kinzelbach, 2012: 313–319; Primiano, 2018; Sceats and Breslin, 2012).…”

“…The rights-as-capacity narrative legitimated Beijing to expand state power – both infrastructural and coercive power – in the name of rights protection, without losing political control or changing policy priorities (Mann, 1993; Wang, 2016). Also, the rights-as-capacity conception paved the way for substantial engagement of international human rights actors with Chinese counterparts (Bakke et al, 2016; Bewicke, 2016; Lewis, 2016; Nesossi, 2016; Subedi, 2015; Thelle and Tota, 2016).…”

“…Sceats and Breslin observed that ‘a newly confident China is experimenting with a more assertive style of diplomacy on international human rights issues generally’ (Sceats and Breslin, 2012). Subedi, on the contrary, opined that, despite its domestic authoritarian rule, a rising China ‘will not pose a major challenge to the UN system of human rights’ (Subedi, 2015: 463). Likewise, Primiano sifted through China’s human rights statements at the UN General Assembly (2000–2014) and concluded that in the foreseeable future, China will neither become more accommodating to Western human rights policies nor adopt a revisionist agenda to rewrite international human rights norms (Primiano, 2018: 197).…”

Power and Justice in International Investment Law: China’s Rise and Its Extraterritorial Human Rights Obligations vis-à-vis the African Host State Population

“…With such an economic power shifting towards China, the West seems to observe an increasing impact of China on the international normative order (see Fenby, 2014;Jacques, 2009;Shambaugh, 2013). In particular, a growing concern is being voiced in international legal scholarship about China's negative impact on the international human rights law regime (Ahl, 2015;Subedi, 2015). This Western concern or even "anxiety" revolves around China allegedly engaging in neo-colonial activities, for example, its deployment of numerous state-owned enterprises (SOEs) or the vast investments in infrastructure 2 (see Anthony, 2013;Kidane, 2014) while at the same time playing an increasingly significant role in international law and within international (human rights) institutions (Ahl, 2015).…”

“…This Western concern or even "anxiety" revolves around China allegedly engaging in neo-colonial activities, for example, its deployment of numerous state-owned enterprises (SOEs) or the vast investments in infrastructure 2 (see Anthony, 2013;Kidane, 2014) while at the same time playing an increasingly significant role in international law and within international (human rights) institutions (Ahl, 2015). The anxiety is, however, also based on the potential for China, a communist state that is seen as a threat to Western democratic values, to restructure the international legal society (Subedi, 2015). Till today, China has ratified 25 human rights treaties (Ahl, 2015), while also being a state with the second most international investment agreements in place, namely, 129 bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and 19 other treaties with investment provisions.…”