Author: Shaio H. Zerba.

This article examines China's response to the 2011 Libya crisis and the emergence of a new diplomatic imperative: overseas citizen protection. Over a 12-day period in February and March 2011, China evacuated more than 35,000 Chinese nationals from civil war torn Libya, testing the overseas crisis management capacity of the Chinese government. Because of increasing domestic pressure to protect the growing population of Chinese citizens abroad, Beijing is developing its diplomatic and military capabilities to manage and mitigate crises overseas. The large-scale Libya evacuation served as a wake-up call for Beijing, that conducting business in high risk countries around the world comes at a price; as a consequence, Beijing will be compelled to reassess its global strategic posture and foreign policy principles.