What are China's main and major goals and interests in East Asia

In general China main goal is to maintain better relations with its neighbors. For Russia, Japan, and the two Koreas, China’s goal is to simultaneously maintain amicable relations while countering external security threats and destabilizing influences within its borders from minority peoples stirred up by their ethnic conflicts. This stance spills over into such problem areas as China’s claims on Taiwan, Tibet, and the South China’s Sea. While Russia was long perceived as the greatest single threat to China's security, potential threats from the United States, Japan, and Taiwan are top priorities therefore stresses a strong national defense so as to avoid containment by these surrounding countries and to create a diplomatic environment conducive to China's interests. The reunification between Taiwan and the mainland is imperative to the Chinese leadership. It is a matter territorial integrity and national independence, certainly a security issue which China considers to be a top priority. As one Chinese diplomat eloquently put it “the basic policy of the Chinese Government to solve this issue is "peaceful reunification" and "one country, two systems". The great concept of "one country, two systems" has been smoothly applied in Hong Kong.”

A second major priority is pursuing an independent foreign policy as a vehicle for exerting greater leadership and influence in the East Asia. China's goals appear to be to resist superpower domination and outside interference while enhancing its own relations with the developing world so as to create a global political and diplomatic environment advantageous to its interests. In pursuit of these goals, China has toned down its highly ideological emphasis on socialism in favor of a realistic, flexible approach to diplomatic relations. For example recently economic aid is being extended to repressive regimes in Africa (Angola and Zimbabwe).

China seeks to build a constructive strategic partnership with the United States through cooperation to meet international challenges and promote peace and development in the world. Also China's security concerns comes from its neighbors, in particular: the Korean peninsula, and Taiwan .The greatest worry with regard to the Korean peninsula is that chaos and instability there might spill over into the ethnic Korean community living in Chinese territory and disrupt peace in the border regions. Taiwan remains a matter of China's national sovereignty, and thus a matter of particular concern.

China strives to improve foreign relations with its neighbors to create a better security environment for itself at the same time as it continues to build a strong national defense to support its basic strategic goals and to protect its national interests. This approach lies at the heart of a Chinese independent diplomatic policy that rejects interference and attempts at hegemony by other major powers. A strong national defense simultaneously serves to strengthen the government's hand in maintaining stability within its own borders and to expand Chinese influence in the East Asia by modernization of its nuclear and conventional forces, its increased military deployment in the South China Sea.

In summary, China’s main goal and national interests can be broadly classified and distributed into three major areas, security, economic and diplomatic in that order. However, as the Cold War experience vividly demonstrates, the East Asian “Giant” will have to adjust her national objectives and interests to cope with the dynamism in this region of the world (East Asia). China also sees a challenging international security environment and is apprehensive about several international security trends. It is particularly concerned about the perceived US "containment” and military “encirclement” of China, US national defense programs, and the potential for Japan to improve her regional force projection capabilities. Taiwan, however, is China's main security focus, and it is the biggest problem, both politically and militarily, in China-US relations. The issues of continuing US arms sales in the region remain problematic for the future.