Political and Legal Principles of Sun Tzu’s Strategy and the Influence of Modern China

Abstract

Although a state's foreign policy strategy is not an official source of law, it represents a system of views on the goals and forms of a state's actions in the international arena and serves as a direct basis for the formation of legal acts and international treaties, playing a significant role in shaping the state's international legal position at international conferences and in the work of international organizations. In today's world, conflicts and contradictions are resolved not only by military force, but also by other means: soft power and information, hybrid, indirect wars, etc. China tries to avoid direct military confrontation for as long as possible, choosing indirect methods of action, and tries to use other actors to achieve its goals. Therefore, the aim of the study is to examine the historical roots of China's foreign policy strategy, its original forms, and compare them with contemporary forms. For this purpose, historical-genetic and historical-comparative research methods are used. It is assumed that China's modern methods of influence and soft power directly reach the depths of the ancient history of the "Middle Kingdom" and have a genetic connection with the ancient art of war, the military strategy developed by Sun Tzu. Using the comparative method, the relevant instructions of the treatise are compared with the practices of modern China. It is concluded that, according to Sun Tzu's concept, it is necessary to conduct active diplomacy, destroy the enemy's alliances, and break their strategy. Sun Tzu constantly emphasizes that direct military confrontation should be avoided, replacing it with indirect actions. Based on the concepts of Sun Tzu's treatise, modern China creatively develops, refines, and effectively applies them in practice. China has created a powerful system of financial, political, and diplomatic influence in the world on business circles, analytical and political centers in virtually all countries of the world.