The following is an excerpt from Jie Gao's report in the CMSI China Maritime Report. Jie is a Research Associate on Foreign Policy and National Security at the Asia Society Policy Institute's (ASPI) Center for China Analysis (CCA).

Summary 

China’s military diplomacy plays a crucial role in advancing the nation's foreign policy objectives and safeguarding its strategic interests. This report highlights a diverse array of activities within military diplomacy, including senior-level meetings, joint military exercises, naval port calls, UN peacekeeping operations, and academic exchanges. Our findings reveal a significant — but incomplete — recovery in China's military diplomacy activities in 2023, following a period of reduced contacts with foreign militaries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Southeast Asia and Russia remain primary partners for China, with emerging strategic importance also seen in Africa, Oceania, and the Middle East. Overall, China's military diplomacy underscores its efforts to diversify partnerships and assert its global influence, emphasizing regional stability and international cooperation in pursuit of its diplomatic goals. 

Introduction 

During their San Francisco meeting in November 2023, Chinese and U.S. statesmen agreed to resume high-level military-to-military communications, paving the way for the first talks between their top defense officials in over a year. While China almost froze its military diplomacy with the United States in 2023, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was busy enhancing its cooperation with other foreign militaries. According to the PLA, “military diplomacy is an important component of a country’s foreign affairs, and it can even be considered the ‘ballast stone’(压舱石) of a nation’s diplomacy.” Thus, tracking the PLA’s diplomatic activities can help us better understand trends in China’s overall diplomatic goals and interests. 

This report reviews China’s military diplomacy activities in 2023, including senior-level visits and meetings, joint exercises, naval port calls, humanitarian activities, and academic exchanges. Key findings are listed below: 

• The PLA was actively involved in military diplomacy in 2023, with 66 defense exchanges, 24 joint military exercises, and 27 naval port calls. Additionally, PLA academies facilitated multiple international events to foster military cooperation and exchanges among cadets. 
• China’s military diplomacy resulted in engagements with 41 partner countries during the period under review. Among these, Southeast Asian countries emerged as the most frequent contacts for senior-level meetings, followed by African states and Russia. Notably, China conducted naval port calls in 27 different countries in 2023, showcasing a diverse range of partners. 
• In 2023, senior-level meetings saw significant shifts in personnel and patterns. Despite changes in leadership, diplomatic engagements remained active, with a total of 61 bilateral meetings and 5 multilateral ones. However, compared to previous years, the diversity of participating officers decreased notably, potentially attributed to the shift to virtual platforms due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• China participated in 24 joint military exercises in 2023, a big increase compared to 2020- 2022 levels but still significantly lower than 2019 (41 total). The Navy witnessed a resurgence in exercise participation compared to the preceding year, with a significant increase to 10 exercises, surpassing the Army in exercise involvement. Joint exercises with Southeast Asian countries notably increased, reflecting a renewed focus on the region. 
• Chinese naval port calls saw substantial progress in 2023, with a total of 27 visits to various regions, including Southeast Asia, Africa, Oceania, and the Middle East. This marked a return to pre-pandemic levels. Southeast Asia emerged as the most frequented region by the PLA Navy (PLAN), underscoring the region’s strategic value to China’s foreign policy. The diverse activities conducted during these port calls ranged from joint military exercises to humanitarian missions and medical assistance, highlighting China’s multifaceted approach to international engagement. 

This report is divided into seven sections. First, we start by providing an overview of the PLA’s military diplomacy, including its forms and objectives. In particular, we will briefly analyze how military diplomacy contributes to the advancement of China’s broad diplomatic goals and national interests. Sections two through six present trends in the PLA’s military diplomacy in 2023, by category: senior-level meetings, military exercises, naval port calls, United Nations peacekeeping, and academic exchanges. The report concludes with a summary of main findings.

Read the full report at CMSI China Maritime Report.