Also on today’s Financial Times, Minxin Pei, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace had a very good commentary piece on the recent diplomatic moves from Beijing. You need to register the FT site in order to read the whole article. Here are some of Dr. Pei’s main points:
“……in recent months, China’s much-lauded “new diplomacy” has lost momentum. The self-confidence that many countries welcomed from Beijing has been replaced with the old clumsiness and bombastic rhetoric. For example, China reacted harshly to the visit by Lee Hsien Loong, Singaporean prime minister, to Taipei in July, even though Mr Lee went in his private capacity and before becoming prime minister. By overreacting, Beijing risks alienating Singapore’s new leader and looking like a bully. ……The most obvious cause of these diplomatic missteps is the intensifying power struggle in Beijing.”
“At a deeper level, there are two contradictions between the internal dynamics of China’s system and the requirements of an internationalist foreign policy. First, to the extent that Chinese nationalism provides legitimacy for the Communist party, Beijing’s leaders will be constantly tempted to sacrifice long-term diplomatic objectives for short-term political gains. Sadly, Chinese conservatives are far more adroit at exploiting popular nationalist sentiments than their more liberal-minded colleagues and thus put the latter on the defensive, especially over Taiwan and Japan.
Second, a liberal internationalist foreign policy is incompatible with China’s illiberal domestic order. Although an illiberal regime can occasionally demonstrate tactical brilliance in diplomacy, its execution of a constructive, long-term foreign policy will be undermined by the character flaws inherent in autocracies: insecurity, secrecy, intolerance and unpredictability. Viewed from this perspective, the recent reversals in China’s diplomacy should come as no surprise. They merely underscore again how China’s closed politics is hampering Beijing’s quest for international respect.”
