Article: Costly signals and compliance boundaries in human rights diplomacy: China's UPR engagement Journal: International Journal of Public Law and Policy (IJPLAP) 2026 Vol.12 No.5 pp.1 - 28 Abstract: Public human rights discourse in multilateral institutions is often dismissed as rhetorical positioning, yet it may also function as a strategic signal shaping negotiation behaviour. This article examines how China's human rights discourse operates as a signalling device in the fourth cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). Drawing on textual analysis of 51 Chinese statements at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and responses to 428 UPR recommendations from 2018-2024, the study identifies a discursive framework structured around three narratives: development and subsistence rights, sovereignty and non-interference, and the shared values of humanity. These narratives structure China's bargaining behaviour in the UPR. Development-oriented recommendations are frequently accepted, generating commitments that function as costly signals, while sovereignty-sensitive recommendations are rejected despite reputational costs. By linking discourse to differentiated signalling costs, the article develops a discursive framework-signalling cost approach explaining how China communicates and defends its human rights positions in multilateral institutions. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: Costly signals and compliance boundaries in human rights diplomacy: China's UPR engagement

Authors: Yuhang Jiang; Wenlong Song

Addresses: School of Regional and Country Studies, Beijing International Studies University, Beijing, China ' School of Regional and Country Studies, Beijing International Studies University, Beijing, China

Abstract: Public human rights discourse in multilateral institutions is often dismissed as rhetorical positioning, yet it may also function as a strategic signal shaping negotiation behaviour. This article examines how China's human rights discourse operates as a signalling device in the fourth cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). Drawing on textual analysis of 51 Chinese statements at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and responses to 428 UPR recommendations from 2018-2024, the study identifies a discursive framework structured around three narratives: development and subsistence rights, sovereignty and non-interference, and the shared values of humanity. These narratives structure China's bargaining behaviour in the UPR. Development-oriented recommendations are frequently accepted, generating commitments that function as costly signals, while sovereignty-sensitive recommendations are rejected despite reputational costs. By linking discourse to differentiated signalling costs, the article develops a discursive framework-signalling cost approach explaining how China communicates and defends its human rights positions in multilateral institutions.

Keywords: Human rights diplomacy; Universal Periodic Review; UPR; costly signals; China.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPLAP.2026.154619

International Journal of Public Law and Policy, 2026 Vol.12 No.5, pp.1 - 28

Received: 16 Mar 2026
Accepted: 26 May 2026
Published online: 07 Jul 2026 *

Title: Costly signals and compliance boundaries in human rights diplomacy: China's UPR engagement

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