Narrating a global order with Chinese characteristics

This article examines the emergence of a China-led order within the broader context of a multi-order world through a narrative-based analytical approach, using power, principles, and practices (PPP) as the core framework. Drawing on cultural–historical path dependency and relational International Relations theory, the study highlights how China articulates its worldview through cultural-historical narratives of Tianxia, Humane Authority, Equilibrium and Harmony. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) stands at the heart of China’s global strategy, functioning simultaneously as a narrative of order and a practice of order-building across the Global South. The article concludes that, rather than representing a straightforward material expansion or an ideological confrontation, China articulates and promotes a relational vision of global order framed around harmony, interdependence, and moral authority–an emerging alternative to the liberal international order.