In Chapter 1, I highlighted the need to examine China's political worldview, including how it views its place in the existing global order, as a crucial starting point for understanding its international relations. I also proposed the notion of Chinese exceptionalism – the idea that China sees itself as being good and different – as a fundamental aspect of how China sees itself and also as a major influence on its relations with the international community. In this chapter, I examine how China's worldview and claims to exceptionalism are reflected in the study of international relations (IR) in China, and how the academic discipline of IR is understood by Chinese scholars through an exceptionalist framework. Why is this important? The study of international relations in China is not a neutral activity pursued as a purely academic endeavor to generate new forms of inquiry. Instead, it is highly politicized and subjected to broader political objectives, particularly the preservation of Communist party rule (discussed below). As such, we might surmise that the study of IR in China reflects not only the thinking of Chinese IR scholars about international affairs, but also incorporates features of Chinese political culture and political life to some extent, insofar as these are being embedded within scholarly perceptions and the practice of international politics.

Given this context, I argue that China's prominence in international relations has emboldened Chinese IR scholars in recent years to suggest a “Chinese way” of thinking about international relations, to consider traditional Chinese ideas and incorporate them into mainstream IR scholarship, which is seen as privileging a Western-centric reading of international affairs.