The essay discusses a series of concrete phenomena of China's contemporary policy. It deals with China's development and strategic objectives, which are determined by the economy of rapid growth and extremely high foreign exchange reserves. As a result, China is becoming an increasingly powerful global force, but its foreign policy is also determined by the internal contradictions: ecological problems, vast disparity between urban and rural areas, the lack of energy resources, corruption, outdated one-party system and the suppression of freedom of speech in the age of a fast growing role of the Internet. China is therefore all the more present on the African continent and increasingly aggressively pursues its own interests in the East and South China Seas. At the same time, China is losing control over its periphery: the north-eastern Muslim region of Xinjiang is beset by terrorism; there is a decade-long conflict in Tibet and in the South; in Hong Kong, we are witnessing the first significant pro-democracy movement in China since 1989. Today, it is not clear to which extent China is willing to play the role of a great power in the external arena. China should face first its problems at home, as these can not be solved otherwise than with radical political reform. China is not ready for this, or is simply not aware as to what kind of consequences the reform could bring.
