Since its establishment, the field of International Relations has been characterized by the predominance of Western paradigms in explaining state behavior and formulating the rules of international interaction. Western liberal and realist approaches have dominated the interpretation of concepts like security, development, diplomacy, and cooperation. However, the last two decades have witnessed radical transformations in the structure of the international system, resulting from the rise of new, non-Western powers—chief among them China—which now pose a challenge not only at the level of power distribution but also at the level of knowledge production and the conceptualization of international engagement.

Chinese diplomacy, with its philosophy derived from different civilizational and political traditions, is poised to be an alternative model to the Western liberal paradigm, especially in its dealings with the Global South. States in the Global South have shown growing discontent with Western political hegemony and the ideological conditionality that has accompanied their relations with Western institutions. China does not present itself as a hegemonic power but as an "equal development partner," offering a diplomatic model based on the principles of non-interference, mutual benefit, and comprehensive development without imposing a specific value system. This Chinese practice has sparked a wide-ranging debate within IR theories: does Chinese foreign policy represent merely a flexible version of realist pragmatism? Or are we witnessing a distinct theoretical approach that can be employed as a new model for developing nations to overcome the legacy of dependency?

Hence, the significance of this research lies in presenting a theoretical and analytical reading of Chinese diplomacy from the perspective of an alternative model for international relations. It poses a fundamental question regarding the possibility of constructing a non-Western global model to guide international interactions, especially given the erosion of trust in the traditional liberal model following recent global crises (the 2008 financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war).

The research problem is centered on the following: despite China's rise as a global economic and diplomatic actor, Western studies still approach its international behavior from normative Western standpoints, focusing on concepts such as liberalism, democracy, and liberal governance values, which do not necessarily align with the structure of the Chinese model. At the same time, the states of the Global South, disenchanted by decades of Western dependency, are drawn to this model based on partnership and development without ideological conditionality. Consequently, the research tests the central hypothesis of the extent to which Chinese diplomacy is based on the principle of "peace through development" rather than "peace through balance."

This leads to a research puzzle that transcends the traditional explanation of China's foreign behavior, posed through two research questions: