Moral Rationality: A Composite Logic of Action in China’s International Humanitarian Assistance

Abstract

“Moral Rationality” is the core analytical concept proposed in this article. It names the distinctive logic of action in China’s international humanitarian assistance, a logic in which ethical commitment and practical calculation are fused rather than held apart. The article first traces the roots of moral thought in traditional Chinese culture, then reviews how Western international relations theory has understood morality, and then breaks down the composite structure of instrumental rationality, strategic rationality, and communicative rationality in China’s aid practice. On that basis it sets out how moral rationality comes into being and what it means theoretically. The central argument is that moral rationality is not simply morality added to rationality. It is a composite logic of action produced by the dialectical tension between historical tradition and modern governance. In essence it is a practical wisdom that weighs justice and interest together and seeks the win-win unity of the two. Read in this way, the concept offers a new theoretical frame for making sense of China’s international humanitarian assistance, one that neither reduces aid to self-interest nor idealizes it as pure benevolence.