Provincial Governments and Foreign Policy; Neglected Layer of China's Diplomatic Action

The power structure and the decision-making method in the field of domestic and foreign policy in China, at least from the point of view of foreign observers, have always been subject to ambiguity, contradictions and many speculations. The decision-making mechanism in the field of foreign policy appears integrated, centralized and top-down based on official narratives and existing institutional mechanisms, but today there are increasing evidences of China's diplomatic action becoming more plural, more ambiguous and even more contradictory in many areas. It can be seen that it cannot be explained based on the model of the integrated decision-making system. This article claims that the key to understanding these complexities and sometimes contradictions in China's diplomatic action is to abandon the idea of unified and centralized Chinese party-state acting in the field of foreign policy and pay attention to the role of local provincial governments in diplomatic action. In this regard, the main question of the article based on the descriptive and analytical method is, how did local provincial governments enter the field of foreign policy decision-making in this country and what methods do they use to influence foreign policy decisions? In this regard, the article traces the footprints of provincial players in many areas of China's foreign policy, including energy, security approach and regional policy in the South China Sea, China's open door policy in East Asia, and finally, the way of formation and practical advancement of the One Belt One Road as the China's most ambitious foreign policy initiative.