The Chinese dream, neoliberalism, and international legal ideology

The present study analyses a key contemporary transformation in international law: the ascent of China and the decline of the hegemony of the United States. I shall here construct a two-stage theoretical picture of China’s mission to establish a regional order with Beijing at the centre. First, I present the argument that international law is a vehicle for hegemonic ideology and practice, taking my orientation from Gramscian theories of hegemony. Second, I shall unfold the Chinese Dream—a Confucian variant of neoliberalism—and the One Belt One Road Initiative, to demonstrate that China’s evolution into a core production zone in the neoliberal world economy may be achieved through international legal structures.