Opinion | Is China evil, or not?

By Philip Yeung, A Chinese Canadian Contrarian and University Teacher

PKY480@gmail.com

 

According to the Western media, the answer is yes. It has lumped China together with Russia and Myanmar as the "bad guys", declaring that, for now, the bad guys are winning.

The tyranny of binary thinking

Not so fast. Is your judgment fool-proof? From what I see, Western journalists are trapped in sterile, binary thinking: The world is either black or white, red or blue in the U.S, yellow or blue in Hong Kong.

Anything not labeled as democratic is suspect. Good is all on one side, evil is all on the other. This ideological oversimplification is dangerous. It is pushing and plunging the world back into the long dark winter of another cold war.

The truth is Western journalists are mentally lazy. They see labels. They fail to see the nuances behind the labels. They suffer from auto-brainwashing. Outdated in their knowledge of a country that may soon overtake America as the world's largest economy, their "either-or" thinking no doubt makes their job easier. They simply write their knee-jerk reactions, minus their professional objectivity. They are no longer reporters but zealous advocates. Has it once occurred to them to step into China's shoes? Overwhelmingly, they are congenitally incapable of giving China that courtesy.

But, today, let us do just that.

How to deal with China?

The West is uncomfortable with an assertive China. The China they knew was weak and marginalized. For long periods in modern history, China was an inconsequential player who was not invited to the table. For long periods before that, China was dismembered by the world's major powers. Recalling this hundred-year humiliation is key to understanding China.

It explains the angry utterances of China's "wolf warrior" diplomats. To be meek and mild when insulted by foreigners is tantamount to kowtowing to bullies. China can no longer be seen to be weak. Period.

Never forget, in foreign relations, China is in a reactive mode. Unprovoked, China is reasonable and polite. Wise China hands know that to get China's ear, first show your respect, and speak softly in private, like friends do. Unfortunately, all three A-B-C Anglosphere countries, Australia, Britain and Canada lack China experts who know what makes it tick. To break the stalemate, abandon your megaphones, even if your domestic politics require public posturing. Quiet diplomacy, not open confrontation, is China's cup of tea. If you insult or denigrate China in public, China will double down. It won't be the first to blink. Of all countries in the world, humiliation is the no-go zone for China. Befriend China and reap big bilateral benefits.

A major power owes its potency to three forces: economic power, military power and the soft power of persuasion. It is in this last category that China grossly underperforms. Its rigid, scripted responses have failed to make any inroads in winning friends and influencing people in the West. It mistakenly believes that a less than forceful reply is loss of face.

From honeymoon to bitter divorce?

There was a time, early in its opening, when China was seen romantically as cute and cuddly. Now that China has grown teeth and muscle, it has lost its "cuteness".

China's reassurances that its rise is peaceful have largely fallen on deaf ears. The West sees China's aggressive economic moves and the bulking up of its military muscles as evidence of a nation with expansionist ambitions, when the weapons are only insurance against American bullying.

Yes, China is communist and successful. But when you provocatively slap the communist label on China, a la Mike Pompeo, it is only a prelude to demonization.

No doubt China is paying a price for this ideological label, even though it has repeatedly stressed that its form of government is "socialism with Chinese characteristics". The West pays no attention to its "Chinese characteristics" and only to its communist veneer. But is this label to blame for Western misperception? Not entirely. Vietnam is communist. But it is not yet powerful, and therefore not perceived as a threat, and is even befriended by its former mortal enemy, the United States.

It is clear that communism becomes a menace only when it is married to power, as in the case of the former Soviet Union. But China is never the Soviet Union.

Judge China by its deeds, not its label

Unlike the former Soviet Union, China does not seek to export its ideology. It has zero interest in ideological salesmanship. It is interested only in making money for its people. The Belt and Road Initiative is just that, an economic mega-move. Unlike the US, it did not start wars on false pretenses. Nor does it do regime change or assassinations. Nor does it seek global domination or playing policeman of the world. It is a nation at peace with itself and the world. And yet China is called evil. If this is not double-standard, what is?

Who is to say that the US, with its white supremacists, racial violence and an amoral cult leader like Trump, is the model to aspire to?

In understanding China, listen to one group few have heard from: expatriates who have made China home. When asked to sum up their experiences in the Middle Kingdom, some utter three words: "opportunity, satisfaction and challenge." Others add another, "safety". Unlike the US, with its alarming outbreaks of violent attacks against Asian-Americans and the random killings of Chinese students in Ivy League universities, the streets in China are utterly safe, even in the dead of night.

Minding its own business, China is laser-focused on becoming a nation of innovation, with new universities sprouting up, especially in the Greater Bay Area, and bridges being built by rockets. This is where the future lives.

Containment of China—a fool's errand

From day one, the People's Republic has had to cope with American containment, as if China were an infectious disease. This is a bankrupt idea, for the simple reason that China is now too big to be contained. Its economy is bigger than the next four economies combined, including Japan and Germany. If you punish China economically, you punish the world, and most of all, you punish yourself economically. Just look at Australia which sells 36% of its exports to China or the UK which is in the middle of a historic 10% economic slump.

And yet both leaders, devoid of vision and imagination, are resorting to the same old tired political expedient, playing this stupid and outmoded game of ganging up against China. Does a G-10 summit without China have any meaning? Why do Australia or Britain send military vessels to join America in "patrolling" the South China Sea? Don't they know that China simply wants to protect its sea lanes for commerce, that's why it is building a canal in Thailand to escape US encirclement? Why are they so gung-ho about being ornamental US stooges?

Let me be blunt, if China is contained, you will stagnate and shrivel, and your people will starve. You cannot take China down without taking the rest of the world down with you, because unlike the former Soviet Union, China is not just a military superpower, it is also the world's economic powerhouse and major growth engine. What's more, China, with its huge market, can survive on domestic consumption alone. The encirclement of a China economically integrated with the world is economic suicide. Encircle China and you can kiss your economic recovery goodbye. Containment is counterproductive. Containment is so last-century. Everybody pays for this folly.

Who defines "evil"? The people or the pundits?

Before you call China evil, remember that its government has lifted a staggering 750 million people out of poverty and that a Harvard study finds that it enjoys the support of over 90% of its population. By calling China evil, you are insulting over a billion people and uniting them solidly behind their maligned government. China is not Nazi-evil, or Russia-evil, or even America-evil, if you recall US war atrocities against the Iraqis. The West's quarrel with China is over Xinjiang and Hong Kong: both share one common denominator, the presence of foreign fomenters who are out to destabilize China and discredit Beijing. That is why Tibet is thriving and untroubled, and that is why Macao is in peace while Hong Kong is in turmoil.

 

The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.