Intransigent face of the Chinese superpower

It is remarkable how China the selfish superpower is fading from public view. In its place comes China the peacemaker and potential saviour of the faltering world economy.

Western governments look to China as an engine of economic growth. Western banks see it as a source of capital. European leaders, eager for commercial advantage, pay homage to Beijing. In the US, the rise of China – notorious only months ago for purportedly stealing American jobs, destroying the environment and exporting poisonous toys – has barely featured in the early primary contests for the presidential election.

US officials are grateful for Beijing’s help in bringing North Korea to the negotiating table and forgetful of the nuclear bomb that was nevertheless made and tested by Pyongyang. Admiral Timothy Keating, head of the US Pacific Command, said on a visit to Beijing this month that he had developed an “honest and true friendship” with Chinese military leaders, including Guo Boxiong, vice-chairman of the central military commission. “General Guo – he’s going to be a pal,” said Admiral Keating.

It cannot last. Even if Gen Guo enjoyed chatting about his grandchildren as much as Admiral Keating says he did, China’s reputation will sink again as surely as its over-inflated equities market.

The first reason is not the fault of China but of the US political cycle. By the time the Beijing Olympics in August have given way to the Democratic and Republican national conventions, it is almost inevitable that China-bashers and protectionists will be reasserting themselves, particularly if the US is in recession.

The second reason to doubt the durability of China’s good reputation is more fundamental: even in these sensitive pre-Olympic months, China, flush with the surpluses generated by its fast-growing economy, has ratcheted up the pressure it always applies to domestic and foreign rivals in pursuit of greater Chinese power.

Beijing, of course, has not shouted its ambitions from the rooftops. On the contrary, China still follows Deng Xiaoping’s famous “24-character” foreign policy dictum, which calls on the Chinese to bide their time and keep a low profile.

But China’s behaviour over the past year – military, diplomatic and political – testifies to an increasingly assertive and confident mood among Chinese leaders in their dealings with Asia and the rest of the world.

China did not warn other users of space when it fired a ballistic missile to destroy an old weather satellite in a space warfare test last year, nor did it apologise for the resulting cloud of orbiting debris that continues to endanger other satellites.

Back on earth, China has vigorously pursued its dubious claim to the entire South China Sea, including oil fields in Vietnamese waters, thereby alarming international oil companies such as BP and ExxonMobil and provoking protests outside the Chinese embassy in Hanoi. China has denied Hong Kong, a supposedly autonomous region, the right to full democracy before 2017. It has backed up its threats to seize Taiwan by staging amphibious invasion exercises and increasing to 1,300 the number of missiles pointing at the island. And it has resisted a resolution of its longstanding border dispute with India.

Even the US navy, for all its willingness to engage with Chinese leaders and the People’s Liberation Army, is not spared the effects of Chinese muscle-flexing. Beijing denied access to Hong Kong harbour for two US minesweepers that had requested protection from bad weather and unexpectedly turned back the Kitty Hawk, a US aircraft carrier that had planned a visit to Hong Kong for the US Thanksgiving holiday.

The Pentagon assumes the Chinese were angered by US sales of anti-missile systems to Taiwan (hardly shocking given the Chinese missiles targeting Taipei) or by President George W. Bush’s meeting with the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader who has campaigned peacefully for Tibetan autonomy.

So enraged are Chinese leaders by the smiling Dalai Lama – Tibet gives the lie to the assertion that China has never been an expansionist power – that their mask of affability sometimes slips to reveal the true face of intransigent Chinese nationalism. China denounced the US welcome for the Dalai Lama as “extremely wrong”. Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, peremptorily demanded that Berlin “correct” its mistakes after Angela Merkel of Germany also met the Dalai Lama and robustly defended her vision of human rights.

It was unfortunate that Gordon Brown of the UK and Nicolas Sarkozy of France scarcely mentioned human rights on their recent visits to China. Western timidity shows how successfully Chinese leaders have used their country’s financial clout to stifle international criticism.

There is no reason to demonise China’s Communist rulers as they grapple with the genuine challenge of modernising the most populous country on the planet. But it pays to be realistic about China’s strategic ambitions to dominate Asia and emerge as a global superpower. From outer space to the South China Sea, China’s actions speak for themselves.

Victor Mallet is a self-contradicting idiot:

China did not warn other users of space when it fired a ballistic missile to destroy an old weather satellite in a space warfare test last year, nor did it apologise for the resulting cloud of orbiting debris that continues to endanger other satellites. Back on earth, China has vigorously pursued its dubious claim to the entire South China Sea, including oil fields in Vietnamese waters, thereby alarming international oil companies such as BP and ExxonMobil and provoking protests outside the Chinese embassy in Hanoi. China has denied Hong Kong, a supposedly autonomous region, the right to full democracy before 2017. It has backed up its threats to seize Taiwan by staging amphibious invasion exercises and increasing to 1,300 the number of missiles pointing at the island. And it has resisted a resolution of its longstanding border dispute with India.
....
There is no reason to demonise China’s Communist rulers as they grapple with the genuine challenge of modernising the most populous country on the planet.

No? Looks to me like he totally blows off (1) recurrent threats to nuke the U.S. (2) Recurrent hostile actions to our national security everywhere, from massive espionage to theft of our vital industries, and (3) recurrent attempts to obtain by heavy money-losing subsidy...significant vectors of supply into our food chain.... not to mention the continued embrace of totalitarianism by them...and their ilk abroad (Fidel, Chavez, Adhamanawhackhjob).

The Arsenal of Communism Arises. And he refuses to face it that this isn't about nationalism. It is about the Communist Party...not just surviving but triumphing.

To me, he inserted the last paragraph as a shield against PC crowds. He does not want to be "demonised" as a right-wing cook, which is a more serious charge in Europe than in U.S.:-)

I have seen this kind of contorted verbal dances whenever some member of so-called elites is compelled to challenge their collective wisdom.

This is a great example of defensive writing.:-)

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