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Growing Diplomacy, Retreating Diplomats – How the Chinese Foreign Ministry has been Marginalized in Foreign Policymaking

Abstract This article examines the shrinking influence of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in China’s foreign policymaking, at a time when the country’s diplomatic needs are rapidly growing. By utilizing the theory of domestic sources of international relations, this article argues that the MFA has been under stress from all directions: sidestepped by Party leaders from the top, challenged by competing ministries horizontally, and mocked by the public from below. The article also assesses the consequences a marginalized MFA has brought to Chinese diplomacy.