US-China relations: Beijing takes pointers from Mao in protracted power struggle with US
- After years of pushing mutual respect and cooperation, Chinese diplomats are now demanding ‘fair competition’ from Washington
- Mao Zedong’s decades-old advice on how to deal with a failing Japanese empire has new relevance for the party’s new generation
China and the US have been at loggerheads on almost all fronts, but with tensions continuing into the Joe Biden presidency, where is the relationship heading? After US deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman’s visit to Tianjin last week, and the Washington debut of China’s new envoy to the US Qin Gang, this series aims to check the temperature of bilateral relations. In this article, Catherine Wong looks into how Beijing is reviewing and adjusting its US policy.
For the Chinese Communist Party’s promising young cadres, a book of Mao Zedong’s speeches delivered during the country’s resistance against Japan in World War II has become required reading at the Central Party School.
For years, China defined relations with the US through its maxim of a “new model of major country relations”, hoping that principles like “no conflict or confrontation”, “mutual respect” and “win-win cooperation” could provide a framework for maintaining stable ties with Washington and prevent the inevitable scenario of great power rivalry.
The Biden administration has been tougher on Beijing than expected, intensifying its efforts to rally allies against what it views as a threatening rise in authoritarianism. Rush Doshi, one of Biden’s foremost China hands, was explicit in his recent book, The Long Game, that China has long held a grand strategy to replace the US as the world’s superpower.
As Washington solidifies its China strategy, Beijing is conducting a strategic review of its own on how it should define its relations with the US, according to a source familiar with China’s foreign policymaking, who requested anonymity.
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The review is expected to lead to a new set of guiding principles for Beijing’s US policy, ditching the “new model of major country relations”, which glosses over the deep rifts between the two countries, and acknowledging the competitive nature of their relationship.
According to the source, Xi has become increasingly frustrated with China’s long-standing approach to diplomacy, seeing it as “softheaded”. Instead, Xi believes China should abandon the illusion that ties with the US can return to their previous, less confrontational state.
For years, China’s US policy has been spearheaded by its top diplomat and Politburo member Yang Jiechi. The US affairs veteran spent years cultivating ties with American politicians, becoming a personal friend of the Bush family and earning the nickname “Tiger” Yang.
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China’s US envoy Qin Gang strikes conciliatory note on arrival in Washington
Beijing’s new approach was demonstrated last week when Chinese foreign vice-minister Xie Feng used the meeting in Tianjin with US deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman to deliver a list of grievances and red line issues.
In an unprecedented move, Xie demanded the US take action to repair the damaged relationship. He also called for “fair competition” between the two powers, a rare admission of the competitive nature of their ties.
Xie also rejected the Biden administration’s strategy of simultaneously pursuing both confrontation and cooperation, calling it a trap for China.
“The Chinese people look at things with eyes wide open. They see the competitive, collaborative and adversarial rhetoric as a thinly veiled attempt to contain and suppress China,” Xie reportedly told Sherman. “They feel the real emphasis is on the adversarial aspect. The collaborative aspect is just an expediency, and the competitive aspect is a narrative trap.”
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Xie had already demonstrated “fighting spirit” in his previous position as the foreign ministry’s commissioner to Hong Kong, and he earned approval again for his performance at the Tianjin meeting.
Determined not to repeat the public spat that marked the Alaska meeting in March between senior Chinese and US diplomats, Xie worked hard to make sure Beijing had the upper hand in shaping the narrative in Tianjin.
Only Chinese reporters were allowed inside the meeting room, and an early release of his remarks was prepared to make sure the Chinese side of the story was told first.
“Xie’s handling of the Tianjin meeting shows China no longer has high hopes about building a friendly atmosphere,” said a person familiar with the meeting’s arrangements.
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The increasingly assertive tone of Chinese diplomats in recent years represents a stark departure from Beijing’s long-standing conservative, restrained style of diplomatic messaging. Once scorned by the Chinese public for being weak, they are now regarded as “wolf warriors” for their new, aggressive tone.
Xi Jinping made his expectations clear at a meeting with young cadres at Central Party School in late 2019, calling for his officials to demonstrate “fighting spirit” amid acute challenges facing the country. “In tackling all kinds of major struggles, we must show that we dare to fight, and are capable of fighting,” he said.
Is China taking a more pragmatic approach to ease tensions with the US?
Chinese foreign policy observers believe the shift reflects Beijing’s disillusionment with Washington. “Chinese diplomats are turning into wolf warriors because they are frustrated with the constant criticism and lack of appreciation from the West of the good China has done,” said Zhu Feng, dean of the Institute of International Relations at Nanjing University.
“And in the process, they may have become too immersed in the domestic discussions, and overlooked how the new style has been received in the outside world.”
Wu Xinbo, director at the Centre for American Studies at Fudan University, said Beijing once had hopes that the Biden administration could bring some relief to the worsening ties with Washington, but they quickly dissipated when the new president indicated he would not soften the US approach.
“At first we had hopes on a Biden administration, but now we have developed a renewed understanding – the Biden administration has not been able to get out of the Trump administration’s shadow,” he said.
“So we no longer harbour hopes that he would work with us in rebuilding trust and cooperation. We have adjusted our approach. We will still cooperate with the US while we can, but we would also fight when we should.”
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According to Zhu, China needs to abandon illusions and adopt a more realist approach to seek what foreign vice-minister Xie called “fair competition” between the two powers.
“For a long time, China has avoided characterising the US as rivals and competitors and considers these labels as being imposed by the US. But now it has become clear that there is a need [for China] to adjust its approach,” he said.
“It’s an idealistic, one-sided wish to say the two countries can be free of competition or conflicts. How is it possible that the world’s No 1 and No 2 not compete with each other?
“China should define the US as its biggest strategic threat. But it doesn’t mean the two countries should not continue dialogues or cooperation. We shall be able to prevent uncontrollable crisis.”
