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Tuesday 7 April 2009
Why China can no longer lie low on the world stage
The one image the mainland media chose from last week’s Group of 20 summit had to sum up China’s growing international clout was President Hu Jintao standing at the centre of a group of the world’s most powerful leaders at the end of the meeting.
Why China can no longer lie low on the world stage
Kristine Kwok 7 April 2009
The one image the mainland media chose from last week’s Group of 20 summit had to sum up China’s growing international clout was President Hu Jintao standing at the centre of a group of the world’s most powerful leaders at the end of the meeting.
While there is still a gap between this perception of China’s emergence as a major world power and the reality, analysts agree that rapidly expanding economic might has allowed - and forced - China to become more assertive in speaking up about its interests.
In the run-up to the London summit, much attention was focused on central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan’s calls for a new reserve currency to replace the US dollar, and Vice-Premier Wang Qishan’s appeal for developing countries to have a bigger say in the world economic order.
At the summit, Beijing agreed to chip in US$40 billion to the International Monetary Fund while the world body agreed to reform its system, under which China is likely to get more voting power.
After months of hardline treatment, China finally agreed to meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy on the sidelines of the summit, on the condition that France agreed not to support any form of Tibetan independence.
Rana Mitter, a lecturer in the history and politics of modern China at Oxford University, said the recent developments were more of a sign that China had become assertive in expanding its interests while maintaining a good relationship with the other powers.
“China is becoming keener in expressing its red lines, on issues it refuses to allow for wider discussion. It’s more of a kind of statement of where the red lines are,” Professor Mitter said. “What the G20 maybe has done in terms of China’s rising power is that it’s almost impossible now to exclude China from future meetings where global economic decisions have to be made.”
But at home, some analysts are more cautious about the high expectations placed on China’s ability to save the world from the crisis.
“There is a gap between the west’s image of China as a major power and what China really can do,” said Pang Zhongying, professor of international relations at Renmin University.
China is under immense domestic pressure to maintain social stability while fulfilling the tall order of achieving an economic-growth target of 8 per cent. Abroad, China faces mounting criticism from what it describes as forces motivated by the “China threat” mentality, and increasing protectionism.
Professor Pang said China was in a painful process of transforming itself into a world major power while keeping everything at home and abroad in order.
“The debate on whether China should lie low on international issues has become irrelevant now. The discussion now is rather how China can ask for power that matches its ability and serves its interest best.”
There have also been public calls for a more assertive approach in the international arena. A book called Unhappy China released last month by five nationalistic scholars immediately became a national best-seller. The book argues that China has no choice but to become an assertive world power.
In recent years, the government has been seeking to improve the country’s image and influence by promoting so-called soft power.
But Yu Wanli, an associate professor at Peking University’s Centre for International and Strategic Studies, said there was also a gap in the way the central government wished to present itself and the way the world perceived it.
“The soft-power campaigns will remain ineffective as long as the government keeps a tight control on everything. But in China, diplomacy is solely under the government’s control,” he said.
“Soft power is not about what the government says, it’s about what its people really think about their own country.”
1 comment:
Why China can no longer lie low on the world stage
Kristine Kwok
7 April 2009
The one image the mainland media chose from last week’s Group of 20 summit had to sum up China’s growing international clout was President Hu Jintao standing at the centre of a group of the world’s most powerful leaders at the end of the meeting.
While there is still a gap between this perception of China’s emergence as a major world power and the reality, analysts agree that rapidly expanding economic might has allowed - and forced - China to become more assertive in speaking up about its interests.
In the run-up to the London summit, much attention was focused on central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan’s calls for a new reserve currency to replace the US dollar, and Vice-Premier Wang Qishan’s appeal for developing countries to have a bigger say in the world economic order.
At the summit, Beijing agreed to chip in US$40 billion to the International Monetary Fund while the world body agreed to reform its system, under which China is likely to get more voting power.
After months of hardline treatment, China finally agreed to meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy on the sidelines of the summit, on the condition that France agreed not to support any form of Tibetan independence.
Rana Mitter, a lecturer in the history and politics of modern China at Oxford University, said the recent developments were more of a sign that China had become assertive in expanding its interests while maintaining a good relationship with the other powers.
“China is becoming keener in expressing its red lines, on issues it refuses to allow for wider discussion. It’s more of a kind of statement of where the red lines are,” Professor Mitter said. “What the G20 maybe has done in terms of China’s rising power is that it’s almost impossible now to exclude China from future meetings where global economic decisions have to be made.”
But at home, some analysts are more cautious about the high expectations placed on China’s ability to save the world from the crisis.
“There is a gap between the west’s image of China as a major power and what China really can do,” said Pang Zhongying, professor of international relations at Renmin University.
China is under immense domestic pressure to maintain social stability while fulfilling the tall order of achieving an economic-growth target of 8 per cent. Abroad, China faces mounting criticism from what it describes as forces motivated by the “China threat” mentality, and increasing protectionism.
Professor Pang said China was in a painful process of transforming itself into a world major power while keeping everything at home and abroad in order.
“The debate on whether China should lie low on international issues has become irrelevant now. The discussion now is rather how China can ask for power that matches its ability and serves its interest best.”
There have also been public calls for a more assertive approach in the international arena. A book called Unhappy China released last month by five nationalistic scholars immediately became a national best-seller. The book argues that China has no choice but to become an assertive world power.
In recent years, the government has been seeking to improve the country’s image and influence by promoting so-called soft power.
But Yu Wanli, an associate professor at Peking University’s Centre for International and Strategic Studies, said there was also a gap in the way the central government wished to present itself and the way the world perceived it.
“The soft-power campaigns will remain ineffective as long as the government keeps a tight control on everything. But in China, diplomacy is solely under the government’s control,” he said.
“Soft power is not about what the government says, it’s about what its people really think about their own country.”
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