China�s international projection in the Xi Jinping�s era

Since the beginning of his presidency, Xi Jinping has progressively redirected foreign policy in order to better protect Chinese interests around the world. To this end, Beijing has significantly increased its international exposure on various fronts, often combining assertive approaches with more cooperative ones, among them the proposal of an "alternative model" of world economic cooperation. The external projection of the Chinese economy has continued to grow and diversify, as can be seen from the trend in exports, their composition (today characterized by greater added value than in the past), the amount of foreign investments and the credit granted by Chinese financial institutions to foreign borrowers. This evolution faces up to the incompleteness of China�s transformation into a market economy, evident in the ongoing role of the State in directing economic decisions (also through the lever of companies and public-owned banks), a source of growing tensions with its major trading partners.