Global Knowledge Production about China

Abstract

China-watching is not the realm of intelligence agencies alone; diplomats, journalists, and scholars, among others, also play an important part. Although global attention has been focused on conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, perhaps nowhere is there a greater potential for serious conflict between the major powers than in the Indo-Pacific. China-watching plays a vital role, yet until now, except for China-watchers themselves, there has been little appreciation of who is undertaking this work, why, where, and what shapes the perspectives of China-watchers and hence the information they present. Augmented by oral history interviews with China-watchers, this meticulous multi-method study illuminates how the scrutiny of China has evolved over the decades. Greater substance is given by chapters exploring the work undertaken by China-watchers in the Global South. The result is an intriguing study that raises important issues about the enduring interactions between politics and the knowledge about China being produced.