Chinese Military Diplomacy, 2003–2016: Trends and Implications

By Kenneth Allen, Phillip C. Saunders, and John Chen

Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs
Institute for National Strategic Studies
National Defense University

PDF download http://ndupress.ndu.edu/Portals/68/Documents/stratperspective/china/ChinaPerspectives-11.pdf?ver=2017-07-17-153301-093

China is placing increasing emphasis on military diplomacy to advance its foreign policy objectives and shape its security environment.

Military diplomacy is part of broader Chinese foreign policy efforts to create a favorable international image, develop soft power, and shape international discourse. Other objectives include shaping China’s security environment, collecting intelligence, and learning from advanced militaries.
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) seeks to forward strategic and operational goals through a variety of interactions with foreign military partners, including senior-level visits, security dialogues, nontraditional security cooperation, military exercises, functional exchanges, and port calls.
Chinese security cooperation also includes arms sales (conducted by state-owned arms manufacturers), internal security assistance (provided by the Ministry of State Security and Ministry of Public Security), and advice on Internet censorship and control.

China Defense Blog