This book examines the driving forces behind China’s foreign policy by asking a fundamental question: what has historically motivated the Chinese political leadership’s key strategic decisions in international affairs? It argues that China’s foreign policy has been shaped by the dynamic interplay of three core factors—security, development, and ideology—whose relative importance has varied across historical periods and political contexts. Rather than reducing China’s behaviour to a single explanatory variable, the book advances a synthesized analytical framework that integrates insights from realism, liberalism, constructivism, and the Chinese School, while grounding its analysis in historical inquiry and leadership-centred decision-making.political leadership