China's foreign policy responses to climate change and Beijing's relations with the Global South

我希望从事全球环境政治方面的博士研究，特别是中国应对气候变化的外交政策及其对北京与全球南方国家关系的影响。我的初步研究问题是“中国的‘绿色’话语如何影响其与非洲和拉丁美洲发展中国家的外交接触”。我感兴趣的是研究两个主题。首先是北京如何利用“绿色一带一路倡议”等话语，使其以能源为基础的海外投资合法化，并从全球南方国家获得盟友。二是在国际气候会议上，中国如何利用“发展中国家的领导者”、“负责任的大国”等话语，与美国、欧洲国家争夺气候领导地位。这两个问题是相互关联的，并引发了关于中国在全球气候变化治理中的角色变化和日益重要的讨论。中国是最大的排放国，有经济和政治潜力通过广泛的“一带一路”倡议向最不发达国家提供绿色资源。然而，目前关于中国环境外交的学术文献仍然很少；大多数关于全球环境政治的研究都集中在欧盟和美国。了解中国应对气候变化的外交政策可能有助于加强国际减排和适应运动。

I hope to undertake doctoral research on global environmental politics and specifically on China's foreign policy responses to climate change and their implications for Beijing's relations with the Global South. My tentative research question is "How do China's 'green' discourses shape its diplomatic engagement with developing countries in Africa and Latin America". I am interested in examining two themes. The first is how Beijing uses discourses like "Greening the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)" to legitimize its energy-backed investments overseas and secure allies from Global South countries. The second is how China uses discourses like being the "leader of developing countries" and a "responsible great power" to compete for climate leadership against the United States (US) and European countries during international climate conferences. The two questions are interrelated and lead to discussions about China's changing role and growing importance in global climate change governance. China is the largest emitter and has economic and political potentials to provide green resources to the least developed countries through its extensive BRI campaign. Nevertheless, current academic literature about China's environmental diplomacy remains scarce; most research in global environmental politics focuses on the European Union and the US. Understanding China's foreign policy approaches to climate change may help strengthen international emissions mitigation and adaptation campaigns.