Introduction
This Introduction presents China’s nascent strategy to protect its overseas interests, eventually via military means, as a major change in the country’s international orientation. As is the case for other great powers in history, it is a fundamental test for the sustainability of China’s rise. In order to shed light on this issue, this chapter brings securitization theory in, introducing its origin and latest developments, in order to avoid some of the problems that the plague the literature on China’s foreign and security policy. In particular, it is explains why it is important to focus on the role of non-traditional security threats to Chinese interests in North Africa and the Middle East. Against this background, the Introduction concludes with an outline of each chapter, providing an overview of their main content and findings.