CHINA’S GEOPOLITICAL CULTURE AND DISCOURSE ON CLIMATE CHANGE: A RESPONSIBLE POWER OR DEVELOPING COUNTRY?

Abstract

China’s rapid economic growth and the accompanying increase in its greenhouse gas emissions in recent decades has been a long-standing point of contention in international climate politics, particularly with regards to China’s controversial status as a developing country under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Set against the context of the rise of China, a ‘great power responsibility’ discourse has emerged within the international community, calling for China to take on more international responsibilities, including in global climate governance. In recent years, China has indeed signalled a departure from its image as an irresponsible polluter and demonstrated a more proactive attitude towards climate change mitigation alongside claims of leadership; yet it continues to identify itself as a developing country constrained by domestic difficulties at international climate negotiations. In light of this paradoxical behaviour, this thesis seeks to gain a better understanding of China’s stance on climate change and its corresponding responsibilities through a social constructionist perspective, which emphasises the influence of ideas and one’s identity in shaping behaviour. A sociocultural approach to discourse analysis is employed to analyse China’s practical geopolitical reasoning on climate change since the landmark Paris Conference on climate change in 2015, which is widely regarded as the turning point in China’s attitude towards climate change. This thesis draws on the concept of ‘geopolitical culture’ for understanding the sociocultural context in which Chinese climate diplomacy is embedded in. Overall, this thesis identifies two dominant frames through which the problem of climate change is represented by Chinese state leaders, and finds that the apparent contradictions in China’s climate change discourse can be reconciled by taking into account China’s geopolitical culture and the multiple dimensions of its identity – one that is shaped by both its historical experiences and future aspirations.