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Xi Jinping treats sovereignty not simply as a policy priority but as a central mission tied to China’s power, legitimacy, and national revival. In this episode of China Considered Quick Takes, Elizabeth Economy, Hargrove Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, explains why reclaiming what Beijing views as lost territory—from Taiwan to the Himalayas and the South and East China Seas—sits at the core of Xi’s vision for the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.” China currently faces territorial disputes with at least ten countries, making sovereignty a defining feature of its foreign and security policy.
Economy outlines the consistent strategy Xi employs to advance these claims: portraying disputed land as sacred to China, applying political, economic, and military pressure short of war, and rejecting international criticism or legal rulings. From refusing arbitration in the South China Sea to exerting sustained pressure on Taiwan and expanding settlements in Bhutan, these actions are reshaping regional security dynamics. Even as Indo-Pacific countries strengthen defense cooperation and align more closely with the United States, Xi’s pursuit of territorial consolidation remains unchanged.
Transcript
Welcome to another episode of China Considered Quick Takes. I’m Liz Economy, Hargrove Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. Today I wanna talk about China and sovereignty.
For Chinese leaders, Xi Jinping, sovereignty is more than a priority. It’s a fixation. Whether we’re talking about Taiwan, land in the Himalayas, or the Eastern South China Seas, Xi Jinping believes that reclaiming what he considers to be China’s lost territory is essential to his great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
For Xi, sovereignty is the foundation of China’s power, legitimacy, and national revival. As I mentioned in my previous quick take, China has territorial conflicts with at least 10 different countries. Some of these are land-based, some are maritime. But Xi Jinping tends to approach all of them with the same three-pronged strategy.
First, he defines the contested territory as sacred to China. Then he uses a mix of political and economic coercion, and sometimes military force just short of war, to change the facts on the ground. These are sometimes called gray zone tactics. And then Xi Jinping simply refuses to engage with any international criticism of his actions.
So, for example, when the Philippines brought China to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 to contest China’s claims in the South China Sea, China simply refused to appear.
To give another example, when Xi Jinping talks about Taiwan, he frames reunification with Taiwan as one of his 14 must-do items for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. He talks about reunification as a historic mission, something that cannot be altered by any force. He’s called reunification with Taiwan a historic mission, something that no force can stop.
He’s also brought political and economic pressure to bear against Taiwan. For example, he’s banned certain Taiwanese agricultural exports from China. He’s refused to allow cross-Strait official political dialogue to try to stabilize the situation. And, of course, he deploys military force against the island.
On almost a daily basis, we see a similar mix of tactics used against the Philippines, Vietnam, and Japan in the South and East China Seas. But Xi Jinping doesn’t always have to use all the tools in his toolbox.
Take the case of Bhutan. China claims 12% of Bhutan’s territory. Bhutan is about 0.4% the size of China and has under 1 million people. Xi Jinping doesn’t have to use a lot of political and economic coercion, or certainly military force, to make progress in terms of Chinese sovereignty claims.
So what does he do? He simply sends Chinese construction firms and workers into Bhutan and claims the territory, establishing new towns and villages. This is how Xi Jinping changes the facts on the ground.
China has settled some of its sovereignty claims and border disputes, for example, with Russia and Kazakhstan, but most still remain contested. And Xi’s actions have alienated many countries in the Indo-Pacific, who are now spending more on defense, banding together, and aligning more closely with the United States.
None of this, however, is likely to deter Xi Jinping from his quest to make China whole again and realize his vision of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
Thanks so much for listening, and if you want to hear more quick takes on China, the U.S., and the world, please hit the subscribe button.
Elizabeth Economy is the Hargrove Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. Named by Politico as among “the ten names that matter in China policy,” Economy served as senior adviser for China in the US Department of Commerce in 2021–23 and is the author of several influential books on Chinese politics and policy, most recently The World According to China.