許多來，中國外交史在領域及研究方法上一直十分穩定，作者在參考了國際關係理論及歐美外交史之研究方法後，提出一個包含以下七個面向的新的分析架構。本架構的第一個面向著重於宏觀歷史發展皆段之變化。即中國外交史之會於一八四○年鴉片戰爭時進入一個與過去截然不同的階段，這是因為中國係以農業國家去對抗西方的工業強國之故。第二個面向專注於國際體系的影響，如第二次大戰後的二元體系和清末的多元體系對於中國外交所造成的衝擊，即有明顯的不同。第三個面向關注中國自身的國力變化對於外交上的衝擊。例如，退守臺灣後，我國國力的大幅下降，在外交上就變得十分困難。第四面向是決策層之認知，如世界觀及自我定位等。第五個面向是國家的大戰略及政策。第六個面向專注於決策模式。最後一個面向則著重於決策者之個人特質。 這套新的分析架構並不是一個企圖全面解釋中國外交史的理論，它的目的在於提出一些重要的面向，引導研究者的注意與興趣，並與西方的可關學門結合，如此不但可以研究傳統中國外交史學的問題，更可以提出具有普遍理論意義的問題，以提昇我們對於本領域的認識。

　　　　　For many years, both the scope and methodology of China's diplomatic history have remained stable. Enlightened by theories of international relations and methodology used in studying both European and American diplomatic history, the author wishes to propose a new analytical framework for China's diplomatic history. The first dimension of this framework concentrates on the change of macro-historical stage of development. Generally speaking, China was forced into a new era of diplomacy after 1840 because the industrialized western powers encroached upon her. The second dimension focuses on the impact of international system. For example, the bipolar world system after the Second World War and the multi-polar system in late Ching dynasty exercised different impact upon China's foreign behavior. The third dimension deals with China's national power. We are interested in finding out how changes in China's national power may affect her diplomacy. The fourth dimension has to do with the elites' cognition. For example, we believe that elites' worldeview and self-identification have a great impact on their external behavior. The fifth dimension focuses on the national grand strategy and the derivative policies. Decision-makers' personal traits make the last dimension.