The People’s Republic of China currently possesses the second biggest national economy in the world, smaller only to that of the United States. It is also a matter of time for China to become the greatest economic power, at least regarding share in aggregated global GDP and the sphere of international trade. Growing engagement of China in global economic development and its dependence on other participants of trade exchanges have made this country a  more ‘responsible shareholder’ of the international economic system. China has a  great development interest in upholding a  stable world economic situation, and especially in proper economic relations with the United States and the European Union, on whose markets its healthy development largely depends. Whether China will soon become a “mature, responsible and attractive superpower” depends to a significant degree not only on its efforts but also on proper relations with major trade and investment partners around the world. It seems that mutually beneficial economic relations between the PRC and the European Union (founded on mutually beneficial and strategic cooperation and not on serious and opaque competition) constitute one of the key factors determining this scenario’s validity. Unfortunately, for the time being, many problems arise in this relationship. They come from both sides requiring a proper diagnosis, as well as a scientific analysis including both assessment and prognosis. The presented scientific article tries to meet these expectations.

China is a country that has been using sport in order to reach political goals for many years. Lately such political exploitation of sport is directed at shaping the desirable international image of this country. This is done most of all through hosting sports events, but also through sports victories. The last aspect is the subject of this research. The aim of the article is therefore to investigate the issue of utilization of performance in international sport in order to enhance international image of a China. The research presented in the article is a case study concerning sport as a tool of nation-branding. Its main objective is to analyse motivation of China’s decision-makers to use sports performance in order to enhance the country’s international perception, and to observe how this goals is executed. The main hypothesis to be tested states that China perceives sports performance as an important tool of enhancing its international image. 

Article “Russia and China in the Central Asia. Cooperation or competition” is dedicated to the important problem of the Russia and China foreign policy in Central Asia. In the article the geopolitical situation of Central Asia at the present stage is analyzed. Special attention on the author is paid to interaction of Russia and China with the region’s countries. Author describes general trends of Russia and China policy. It contains the analysis of basic coincidence of strategic interest of Russia and China and basic imaginations of Central Asia among the Russian and Chinese political elite. Special attention on the author is paid to historical process who create the basic interest and imaginations. Author esteemed historical features of Russia–China relations in the region ant try to predict the future relationship between Russia and China in the Central Asia.

A paper entitled Energy resources of post-soviet Central Asia: reserves, production, energy policy covers topics that refer to production and transport of the petrol and natural gas through the so called “Asian five” states. Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are over-regional leaders in the production of petroleum and natural gas. New natural resources reserves has been also discovered in Tajikistan and Kirgizstan. The post-soviet states of Central Asia are making an effort to raise their shares in the global petrol market however their abilities are limited by the Russian Federation`s position in the global market, corruption and nepotism. Only the overcoming of this negative tendencies might lead to positive change of the perception, as the region countries will be perceived as a key players in the petroleum and natural gas export

After a few decades of transformation China is becoming a major contender for the number two position in the world. Is it really possible? Will China balance the power of the United States? Today the United States supremacy is so great that it seems to be undeniable. The situation was similar at the end of the twentieth century when U.S. domination was obvious and any other reality was hard to imagine. Recently though, more and more often America’s political decisions are criticised. A few decades ago, in Beijing a new idea was developed. The essence of that idea was to transform the People’s Republic of China into a superpower. Since China was very vast and densely populated, but mostly a poor and backward country, it was a very daring vision. Years of consistent and painful reforms changed the way the world is looking at China, even though some of them were not accepted by international opinion.

This article discusses the realization of the conception of the New Silk Road in the countries of East-Central Europe. Author in the introduction of the article described the idea of The New Silk Road and its six corridors. Then, it was depicted format “16+1” and its meaning for the realization of the Chinese conception in first part of the article. Moreover, it became underlined the meaning economic buildings „the Belt and Road” for the countries of Central-East-Europe. Author in second part represented Poland in the format „16+1” and her relation to the New Silk Road.

China is today the most populated country in the world. The end of the twentieth century resulted in the growth of international importance of China. It was reflected in the influence of Chinese diplomacy and economy on the global international system. ! e recent international success of China do not overshadow the fact that China is still a middle scale world power. The area of North-Eastern Asia has played the key role in the security system of the People’s Republic of China.

The author wonders at the problem of the leadership in the present Asia, which is the region of the economic growth and the area doesn’t affected by the crisis. At the present four countries aspire to the leadership in Asia: India, Japan, China and United States. The author presents reasoning that the present China is the nearest to the leaderships in the Asia. China tries to push out the USA from the Asia and addict the United States by its economic policy and the ransom of indebted papers. At the present the America is in debt on approx. 17 bln USD., and 7% of this debt has at Chinese. In the India it came to slow down of the economic development and in the Japan after the period of the stagnation, it just slowly comes in on the path of the economic development.

Ukrainian-Chinese relations have taken on new importance since 2010, along with the economic crisis. Ukraine tried (like the U.S.) to get new sources of funding for business, but primarily as an antidote to the stagnation of the Ukrainian economy. The multiplicity of agreements signed between Ukraine and China in 2010–2013 was also demonstrates that Ukraine was looking for a new direction of foreign policy. The strategic partnership between Ukraine and China is primarily economic and economic, not political. However, the perception of China in Ukraine is carried out through the prism of state influence on the political, economic and social processes in the world. China on the other hand see Ukraine in the context of the so-called region. New Eastern Europe (including Belarus and Moldova), which is regarded by Beijing as an opportunity to expand markets to sell their goods to the markets of the EU and the Customs Union.

The purpose of this article is to present and compare China’s economic, political and military involvement in Ukraine and Belarus, with particular emphasis on their role in the global expansion of the PRC. China after the opening of the economy to the world in the early 1980s, immediately became one of the most important elements of the global economy. The article will attempt an analysis of Chinese investments on the Dnieper, but also the political and military aspects of this cooperation.

Students’ free option power of learning is an important part of students’ power of learning. It emphasizes respect for students’ learning rights and freedom, so that students have a certain freedom of learning choice. In the theory and practice of Chinese higher education, undergraduates’ free option power of learning has long been weakened and restricted by various factors. This study provides an understanding of the current situation of undergraduates’ free option power of learning through 20 interviews with undergra duates from a university in Central China in a pilot project, whose purpose was to provide students with freedom in selecting higher education options. The interviews address three areas where students were given the option to select: (a) learning content, (b) learning processes, and (c) learning environments. Discussion follows on the problems experienced by Chinese undergraduates’ in the free option power of learning project. Lastly, as China hopes to expand this project beyond the pilot, we advance recommendations to promote effective implementation of the free option power of learning of Chinese undergraduates, such as: (a) establishing sound laws to ensure the effective implementation of the power of students; (b) empowering undergraduates to have more choice to choose and change their majors; (c) carrying out the flexible program duration to let students have free choice of getting credits; and (d) establishing a sound and perfect transfer mechanism to let students have more choice of universities.

The intelligence service of People’s Republic of China – an outline of structures and methods of activity

Studying Chinese intelligence service brings researchers and their readers together to identify the specific ways in which the state achieves its goals internationally. Intelligence is deeply rooted in the Chinese understanding of interstate competition, and its essential effect, ie knowledge, is a key element in rational decision-making in foreign and security policy. Intelligence is also an important tool for reducing the technological gap between the PRC and Western countries. Years of tradition, size and international status make the intelligence service of the People’s Republic of China have certain characteristics that characterize its operation. Their description may help to understand the philosophy underlying the intelligence work on Chinese characteristics, the role of these institutions in foreign policy and their methodology of action. Authors decided to focus on two aspects: the structures responsible for the interview and the specificity of the approach to collecting information. The main reason for adopting such a perspective is the desire to outline the main differences in Chinese intelligence work in relation to Western countries of cultural or even Russian. A look at the structure of the intelligence and its place in the system brings us closer to understanding what role the Chinese attribute and what they expect from the institutions called to collect information.

China’s soft power

The notion of soft power introduced by American political scientist J. S. Nye is becoming increasingly popular not only in science but also in journalism. In short, this term should be understood as the use of ideology, culture and diplomacy to build the international position of a given state. The masters in the application of soft power are generally considered Western states. However, it is forgotten that for many centuries before the West soft power to build its power was successfully used by China. Also today, rebuilding its international power, China is using soft power in its mastery of the world.

The specificity of guanxi – positive or negative social capital?

The text presents the problem of a Chinese-specific phenomenon known as guanxi. Their features and their connection with Confucianism were discussed. They emphasized their permanence and continuous presence in Chinese society, emphasizing their evolution after China adopted the principles of market economy. Also tried to look at guanxi in terms of social capital, showing elements connecting both phenomena. It has been noted that some researchers have a tendency to perceive guanxi in terms of negative social capital. This approach was considered as unauthorized as a result of Western ethnocentrism and pointed to the need to respect the cultural distinctiveness of the East and West. It has also been pointed out, that the interest in China and the role that guanxi play, especially in the sphere of economy, may be due to fears of Chinese domination, as well as the lack of understanding by the West that effective modernization based on other patterns is possible than those preferred in the Euro-Atlantic cultural circle.

Azja Południowo-Wschodnia stanowi region ekstremalnie różnorodny kulturowo. Współczesna rzeczywistość cywilizacyjno-kulturowa stanowi efekt licznych interakcji międzygrupowych, różnorodnych grup etnicznych i wyznawców odmiennych religii, do których dochodziło na przestrzeni dziejów. Charakter regionu determinowany jest także przez ukształtowanie terenu oraz bliskie sąsiedztwo dwóch ważnych cywilizacji: Indii oraz Chin. W artykule omówione zostaną źródła zróżnicowania cywilizacyjno-kulturowego Azji Południowo-Wschodniej.

The main purpose of this article is to analyze the situation of modern Tibet, which political and legal structures are divided into the Central Tibetan Administration in India and the Tibet Autonomous Region in China. What connects them is a developing national identity of the Tibetans and the actions taken by the Central Tibetan Administration to create a new and independent state. Of great importance for the specificity of politics and the shaping of Tibetan national identity are also activities of the 14th Dalai Lama, who internationally promotes Tibetan culture and informs about the situation of Tibetans living in the Tibet Autonomous Region in China.
Dalai Lama is also the author of the draft constitution of the future state of Tibet, which content is a basis of the analysis in this article. Due to the comprehensive presentation and explanation of the specifics of this project, we will analyze not only particular articles, but also the introduction that we can consider as preamble. Thanks to this, it will be possible to show the relationship between political, legal and religious issues that make up the visions of the new state of Tibet.
This article is divided into two related parts. The first one is connected with national identity and independence of Tibet. The second part is focused on democratization of Tibet and relation between religion and politics.

China is a country that employs a number of tools in order to shape its positive international perception. Sport plays an important role in this area. The aim of the research is to investigate the issue of sports exchanges and their role in shaping international image of China. The analysis is an empirical case study and is aimed at answering a research question concerning how sports exchanges may be used in order to shape a desired international image of a country. According to the main hypothesis to be tested in the article, through sports exchanges China managed to make a swift from the old, unidirectional sports diplomacy, to a more dialogue-oriented, reciprocal form.

Factors confirming China’s power status

Nowadays it is no surprise to anyone that PRC is put on an equal footing with the USA. Current geopolitical situation is changing in inordinately dynamic way. The situation from a few years ago seems to be very different from what we have now. In a new, multipolar world China plays an increasing role. It has become the second world’s economy after USA. There are many reasons that contributed to the current situation and it is not possible to address all of them in one thesis. Nonetheless, the important thing is to understand the reasons why China is becoming a geopolitical power.
The aim of this work is to analyze the strong and ceaselessly increasing China’s position at the national level. Firstly, the changes that occurred in China over the past 70 years were analyzed. Analysis of the historical context helps to understand the dynamics of China’s growth as well as immense potential of this country. The next part of the work addresses the events that took place in 21st century with particular focus on 2008 crisis as well as its policy and economic implications that are noticeable in the present day. This part of the work also includes the assessment of China’s dynamic development. In this work there is also a description of China’s One Belt, One Road Initiative. Financial institutions associated with initiative as well as the opportunities for Europe connected with huge funds were described.
The work is based on the latest literature on the topic, online articles and statistics retrieved from People’s Republic of China’s official statistics website available in Chinese.
The work shows that China plays an essential role in the new balance of power. Due to dynamic changes in the global balance of power China can become a leading superpower in the nearest future.

The economic aspect of the superpower status of the People’s Republic of China, including its transformation process

The article: The economic aspect of the superpower status of the People’s Republic of China, including its transformation process focuses on the key events in Chinese economic modern history that led it to become superpower in its region and worldwide. The world order prevailing for several centuries was based on the domination of the European civilization. Nowadays, we have the opportunity to observe the birth of a new order based on the dominance of Asian civilization, in which China has a leadership position. That superpower has the greatest impact in the Asia-Pacific region. This is due to the unique features of Chinese civilization, as well as the success of the economic transformation that has been going on for almost 40 years, which can set an example for developing countries. The Chinese way to economic success is unique on a global scale. In addition to centrally planned and free market systems, there are also so-called hybrids that combine features from both systems. In the case of the People’s Republic of China, this system is defined as a socialist market economy. Under this system, state ownership still dominates, but state-owned enterprises have relative independence in operational planning. There are also companies with mixed capital and entirely based on foreign capital and the private sector is playing an increasing role. It is worth paying attention to how China created its own system, because the way it did is completely different than in the West.

The development of Chinese soft power in Central Asia – opportunities and challenges

The article presents analysis of the development of China’s soft power in Central Asia. Since 2005, China has been trying to promote Chinese language and culture in Central Asia. Institutes of Confucius began to appear in the region. There are currently 13 of them. More and more youth from this region are learning Chinese. They also go to China to study at Chinese universities. Learning Chinese language increases the prospects of professional development and employment for people from the region. However, China still has a long way to achieve a satisfactory level of promoting its culture in the region. There are accusations that Beijing wants to train the Central Asian elites in line with the Chinese model. Central Asian states are, however, particularly sensitive to their cultural heritage. Cultural independence is among the foreign policy priorities of these countries. Beijing should continue to increase efforts to create a positive image in the countries of the region. The new Silk Road is becoming an important element of diplomacy to promote Chinese soft power.