Amidst his recent meetings with visiting U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President XI Jinping issued instructions on the “high-quality development of philosophy and social sciences”.  One of the “profound and far-reaching considerations” underlying this otherwise seemingly minor task is, according to China’s state-run news agency, to “break the hegemony of Western discourse and, thereby, enhance [China’s] cultural soft power”.

President Xi’s instructions were rooted in a speech delivered ten years ago, which led to various actions, including the recent publication of a handbook outlining the “autonomous systems of knowledge” of Chinese legal studies.  In examining certain theories that have originated from China itself as a means of explaining topics such as national security and human rights, this handbook will likely serve as an example to other “philosophy and social sciences” disciplines in China of a way to set up “autonomous systems of knowledge”.  These developments, together with China’s growing population of foreign students, suggest that the country’s cultural soft power could grow rapidly and reshape geopolitics.

The 2016 Speech

In May 2016, President Xi delivered a speech at a symposium regarding philosophy and social sciences.  He stated that the level of development of a country depends on the level of development of both its natural sciences and its philosophy and social sciences.  He continued to state that a country lacking advanced development in either of these disciplines “cannot stand at the forefront of the world”.

President Xi urged his country to accelerate the development of “philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics”, with a particular focus on issues of concern to the international community in order to enhance the country’s international influence in these areas.  He further noted that “philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics” should broadly cover history, economics, politics, culture, society, ecology, military affairs, and many other subjects as well as emerging and interdisciplinary fields.

The Handbook on Chinese Legal Studies

The above speech led to the recent publication of a handbook on Chinese legal studies, among other actions occurring in China.  As explained by the handbook’s Editorial Committee Chairman ZHANG Wenxian, Senior Professor of Philosophy and Social Sciences at Jilin University, President Xi further pointed out in April 2022 that “accelerating the development of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics is, fundamentally, about building autonomous systems of knowledge for China”.  Following this principle, the handbook was prepared by more than 130 experts in China to set up “autonomous systems of knowledge” for Chinese legal studies and these systems will shape the development of related discourse and textbooks in China.

“[…] the ‘original theories’ of the sub-discipline ‘National Security Law’ include ‘the theory of the rule-of-law path for national security with Chinese characteristics’ […].”

The handbook covers 16 core sub-disciplines (e.g., Jurisprudence, Legal History, Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, and Intellectual Property Law) and six emerging sub-disciplines (e.g., Digital Law, National Security Law, and Human Rights Law) of Chinese legal studies.  For each sub-discipline, the handbook has a section focusing on theories that originated in China to explain related key concepts.  For example, the “original theories” of the sub-discipline “National Security Law” include “the theory of the rule-of-law path for national security with Chinese characteristics”, “the theory of building a higher-level ‘Peaceful China’”, and “the theory of coordinating development and security”.  Another example is the sub-discipline “Human Rights Law”, whose “original theories” include “pursuing a path of human rights development suited to China’s national conditions”, “prioritizing the rights to subsistence and development as fundamental human rights”, and “persisting in actively participating in global human rights governance”.

The 2026 Instructions and Related Explanations

In mid-May, President Xi issued important instructions on promoting the “high-quality development of philosophy and social sciences”.  Apart from requiring this development to be based on principles such as adherence to the Chinese Communist Party’s leadership, the instructions specify the need to “accelerate the building of autonomous systems of knowledge for Chinese philosophy and social sciences” and to “address better the questions facing China, the world, the people, and the times”.

Afterwards, Xinhua News Agency, China’s state-run press agency, published an article to elaborate on these brief instructions.  It first explains that behind the “high-quality development of philosophy and social sciences” are “profound and far-reaching considerations” aimed to address domestic and international challenges facing China.  At home, according to the article, China is facing unprecedented governance challenges that have given rise to an urgent need for theoretical support based on philosophy and social sciences.  At the international level, China needs to leverage the intellectual wisdom from the high-quality development of philosophy and social sciences to “break the hegemony of Western discourse and, thereby, enhance the country’s cultural soft power and the influence of Chinese culture”.

The article then states that it is imperative to “accelerate the building of autonomous systems of knowledge for Chinese philosophy and social sciences” by adhering to the “Two Integrations”—i.e., integrate the basic principles of Marxism with China’s realities and with “the outstanding traditional Chinese culture”—and formulate Chinese theories and distinctive concepts that possess “explanatory power, influence, and appeal”.

Given such a strong focus on accelerating the building of autonomous systems of knowledge for Chinese philosophy and social sciences, it is expected that the preparation of the aforementioned handbook to set up “autonomous systems of knowledge” of Chinese legal studies will serve as an example for other “philosophy and social sciences” disciplines in China to build their own “autonomous systems of knowledge”.

Geopolitics and China’s Cultural Soft Power

“[…] 380,000 international students from 191 countries and regions were studying in the country during the 2024–2025 academic year.”

China just announced that 380,000 international students from 191 countries and regions were studying in the country during the 2024–2025 academic year.  Of these students, 61.1 percent were from Asia, 16.2 percent from Africa, 15.6 percent from Europe, and 7.1 percent from the Americas and Oceania.  The rising numbers help increase China’s confidence in becoming a key global destination for higher education.

China’s growing population of foreign students, together with the country’s focus on building autonomous systems of knowledge for Chinese philosophy and social sciences, will likely lead to a rapid growth of the country’s cultural soft power.  With shared values established through the dissemination of these systems, China could, in a non-coercive manner, influence global affairs and reshape geopolitics.

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• The citation of this article is: Dr. Mei Gechlik, Geopolitics and China’s Philosophy and Social Sciences, SINOTALKS.COM^®, SINOTALKS^® In Brief, May 27, 2026, https://sinotalks.com/inbrief/geopolitics-philosophy-social-science-china.

• The original, English version of this article was edited by Nathan Harpainter.  The information and views set out in this article are the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect the work or views of SINOTALKS^®. ↩︎

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