China must make friends, not foes, to thrive
Lex Zhao says the emergence of a new cold war mentality, exacerbated by China's military elite, is a growing menace which can be headed off by Asia embracing global and regional co-operation
The release online of a documentary; The Silent Contest, made by the People's Liberation Army's National Defence University, has stirred controversy. It claims that China is being infiltrated and subverted by the US, just as the Soviet Union was before its collapse.
This is in marked contrast to China's international appearance, where leaders have repeatedly said they do not seek hegemony. Vice-premier Wang Yang, even said that the relationship between China and the US should be "like husband and wife".
So one has to wonder: which is the real China?
With the purchase and refitting of the aircraft carrier Liaoning and the showdowns over the Diaoyu Islands with Japan, where they are known as the Senkaku Islands, China seems to be inviting suspicion or even antagonism from the international community.
Three decades of economic boom have made China the world No 2 in terms of gross domestic product, and many Chinese are feeling very rich and want to take on the world. The new generation of top leaders (mostly former Red Guards) is fuelling the fire against "foreign plots" and "foreign penetration", making good use of their fighting skills learned during Mao's Cultural Revolution: only the great Communist Party leadership can protect ordinary Chinese from suffering foreign humiliation again.
It's time for China to wake up. How many friends - true friends - does it have, either nearby or far away?