China’s Changing Policy – Burning Issues

Table of Contents

Zhou Enlai was China’s head of government , serving from October 1949 until his death in January 1976.
He was also the Foreign minister .
Zhou’s style of diplomacy came to define Chinese foreign policy over the next half-century

A refined approach to Diplomacy

If Mao Zedong represented the crude face of Chinese communism, then Zhou was the epitome of its refinement.
Where Mao preferred to exercise his power from “out of the barrel of a gun”, Zhou preferred to seduce his opponents through word and gesture in the pursuit of national self-interest, with the elegance of an opera star.
The stick was used rarely, and only when all other means of persuasion failed.

The tactics were called ‘united front’ — isolate the main threat by building unity with all other forces.

When USA invaded North Korea, Zhou summoned the Indian Ambassador in Beijing to deliver a message to the Americans
“If the U.S. troops cross the 38th Parallel… we will intervene.”
The manner of his delivery was as subtle as its message was blunt.
Zhou could have thrown down the gauntlet in public but chose to give diplomacy a chance

Through his diplomacy, Zhou managed to persuade India to accept China’s occupation of Tibet in 1950 and 1951.
India was later persuaded to act as a neutral mediator between China and the United States during the many difficult phases of the negotiations settling the Korean War.
Panchsheel signing

A year later, at the Afro-Asian Conference in Bandung, Zhou used the same tactics to pursue another objective; the leaders of the Afro-Asian countries.
He deliberately kept a low profile, allowing Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Indonesian President Sukarno to take the lead.
His tactic was “not to be involved in provocative or disruptive debate”.
His guidance to his team was to “strive to expand the united front of the world peace force… and create conditions for establishing diplomatic work or diplomatic relations between China and a number of Afro-Asian countries”.

Under Zhou, diplomats of calibre kept the ship of state steady in a churning sea full of storms.
When the tide rose, these diplomatic fishermen gathered the fish — expanding China’s global presence and gaining international acceptability.
When it ebbed, they saw to it that the ship remained firmly moored.
They navigated the Cold War, playing the Soviets against the Americans.

In February 1972, Nixon’s arrival in Beijing ended 25 years of no communication or diplomatic ties between the two countries and was the key step in normalizing relations between the U.S. and China.
China persuaded U.S. President Richard Nixon to abandon Taiwan
It was a staggering act of diplomacy.

After Mao and Zhou Enlai’s deaths in 1976, Deng became the leader paramount from 1978 until his retirement in 1992.
Ushered reforms
In the 1980s, when Deng Xiaoping took up the reins, Zhou’s ‘sailors’ continued to navigate the Chinese ship through the early days of opening up to the outside world.

Deng supplemented Zhou’s strategy with his own:
“Observe calmly; secure our position; cope with affairs calmly; hide our capacities and bide our time; be good at maintaining a low profile; and never claim leadership.”

It became the ‘mantra’ of Chinese diplomacy.
Chinese diplomats measured their words and kept their dignity.
They projected power but rarely blustered.
They were masters of their brief because Zhou had taught them that the real advantage in negotiations was to know more than the other side.
Behind closed doors, they were tireless in whittling down opposition through negotiation, and skilful in putting the onus of responsibility for failure on the other party.
Occasionally they would hold out a veiled threat
The Chinese diplomats rarely offended anyone .
The negotiations for the return of Hong Kong and Macau

The 1980s and 1990s were the high noon for Chinese diplomacy.
S. President George Bush and Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev made visits.
They normalised relations, settled borders and won hearts and minds through general financial help.

So seductive was Chinese diplomacy that the Americans broke their own sanctions imposed after the Tiananmen Incident within a matter of four weeks.
A decade later, the U.S. and the European Union bought into Chinese assurances that it would soon transition to a market economy, and helped steer it into the World Trade Organization.

Deng died in 1997. China prospered and began to occupy centre stage in world diplomacy, but the ship began to come apart from its moorings.
A new generation of diplomats, with knowledge of the English language
Arrogance has replaced humility. Persuasion is quickly abandoned in favour of the stick when countries take actions contrary to Chinese wishes.
The Chinese pursue unilateralism instead of compromise in the South China Sea.
In place of ‘united front’ tactics, they are bent on creating problems simultaneously with multiple neighbouring countries.
Statements of fact or reasoned opinion are seen by them as insult or humiliation.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lijian Zhao suggested the US had brought coronavirus to China

China has dispatched an increasingly vocal cadre of diplomats out into the world of social media to take on all comers with, at times, an eye-blinking frankness.
Their aim is to defend China’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and challenge those who question Beijing’s version of events.
They are often called ‘Wolf Warriors’

China has adamantly refused any enquiry* into its handling of COVID19.
It wriggled its way out of WHO assembly too.
The Chinese expect to receive gratitude for everything they do, including handling COVID-19.
The reserves of Chinese goodwill built over the decades are fast depleting – The ship seems to be adrift at sea.