Replication Data for: The Strategic Logic of China's Counter-Terrorism Foreign Policy

Counter-terrorism joint military exercises (CT-JMEs) provide a unique window into China’s capabilities and policies. Drawing on an original dataset of China's CT-JMEs from 2002-2016, we argue that China seeks to balance competing priorities. China engages to develop a credible reputation as a regional hegemon, further military readiness, and safeguard Chinese nationals and investments abroad. However, these outward-facing tendencies are tempered by the desire to minimize exposure to political violence. Supporting this interpretation, our empirical results indicate that China has cautiously targeted CT-JME engagement only toward countries where both the threat of militancy is high and China has significant economic interests.

反恐联合军事演习（Counter-terrorism Joint Military Exercises，缩写CT-JMEs）为洞悉中国的军事能力与对外政策提供了独特视角。本研究依托2002年至2016年中国反恐联合军事演习的原创数据集，提出中国旨在平衡各项相互冲突的优先级目标。中国参与此类演习，意在树立作为地区主导大国的可信声誉、提升军事战备水平，并保护海外中国公民与海外投资。然而，这类外向型的参与行为，会因中国希望最大限度降低自身卷入政治暴力事件的风险而受到制约。为佐证这一解读，本研究的实证结果显示，中国仅会谨慎地将反恐联合军事演习的参与对象限定在同时满足两大条件的国家：一是武装激进主义威胁较高，二是中国在该国拥有重大经济利益。