{"id":132342,"date":"2012-02-29T07:42:14","date_gmt":"2012-02-29T14:42:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/?p=132342"},"modified":"2012-02-29T07:42:14","modified_gmt":"2012-02-29T14:42:14","slug":"chinas-syrian-firewall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2012\/02\/chinas-syrian-firewall\/","title":{"rendered":"China’s Syrian Firewall"},"content":{"rendered":"

With China and the United States trading diplomatic barbs<\/a> over how to address the deteriorating situation in Syria, The New Yorker’s Evan Osnos chases the reasons behind China’s position<\/a><\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Activists now put the death toll in Syria at more than eight thousand and climbing. If Russia\u2019s motives are easier to divine\u2014Assad has been a loyal customer for years\u2014what is driving China\u2019s calculations on this? What does China get out of Syria? For more, I checked in with\u00a0Shi Yinhong<\/a>, an influential international-relations specialist at Renmin University, who told me that, while China sees a \u201cneed to keep step with Russia\u201d to some degree, the motivations are distinctly Chinese: \u201cChina\u2019s worry about the resurgent Western \u2018liberal interventionism\u2019 is playing a substantial part, especially after the abuse by\u00a0NATO\u00a0countries\u201d and Arab allies in Libya, he said. Shi, who is an adviser to the Chinese cabinet on foreign affairs, went on: \u201cThe Chinese government may feel that it has to stop at somewhere to hold on to the principle of sovereignty and non-intervention\u2026. If this time it and Russia do the same as they did over Libya, very bad developments over Iran would probably come true\u2014uglier and sooner.\u201d<\/p>\n

For China, in effect, Syria has become a firewall. China is setting itself up for an unwelcome response from a transforming Middle East, but leaders in Beijing have have more immediate concerns: \u201cChina\u2019s reputation in the Arab world will be hurt to some degree, but it will surely be quite temporary and limited. After all, China should not be required to agree with others every time. Otherwise, its reputation, including that for willpower, might be negatively impacted even more in the longer term both among the Chinese public and some, or perhaps many, nations in the world.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read more about\u00a0China and Syria<\/a>\u00a0via CDT.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With China and the United States trading diplomatic barbs over how to address the deteriorating situation in Syria, The New Yorker’s Evan Osnos chases the reasons behind China’s position: Activists now put the death toll in Syria at more than eight thousand and climbing. If Russia\u2019s motives are easier to divine\u2014Assad has been a loyal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":983,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[116,34,14744,14745,14746,100],"tags":[2696,5934,7446,7702,1033],"class_list":["post-132342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world","category-human-rights","category-level-2-article","category-level-3-article","category-level-4-article","category-politics","tag-libya","tag-russia","tag-syria","tag-us-relations","tag-united-nations","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nChina's Syrian Firewall<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2012\/02\/chinas-syrian-firewall\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"China's Syrian Firewall\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With China and the United States trading diplomatic barbs over how to address the deteriorating situation in Syria, The New Yorker’s Evan Osnos chases the reasons behind China’s position: Activists now put the death toll in Syria at more than eight thousand and climbing. If Russia\u2019s motives are easier to divine\u2014Assad has been a loyal […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2012\/02\/chinas-syrian-firewall\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"China Digital Times (CDT)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ChinaDigitalTimes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-02-29T14:42:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/CDT-logo.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"186\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"177\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Scott Greene\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cdt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@cdt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Scott Greene\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2012\/02\/chinas-syrian-firewall\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2012\/02\/chinas-syrian-firewall\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Scott Greene\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#\/schema\/person\/3393334e12ee6be1f84abbe56c37b108\"},\"headline\":\"China’s Syrian Firewall\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-02-29T14:42:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-02-29T14:42:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2012\/02\/chinas-syrian-firewall\/\"},\"wordCount\":311,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Libya\",\"Russia\",\"Syria\",\"U.S. relations\",\"United Nations\"],\"articleSection\":[\"China & the World\",\"Human Rights\",\"Level 2 Article\",\"Level 3 Article\",\"Level 4 Article\",\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2012\/02\/chinas-syrian-firewall\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2012\/02\/chinas-syrian-firewall\/\",\"name\":\"China's Syrian Firewall\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-02-29T14:42:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-02-29T14:42:14+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2012\/02\/chinas-syrian-firewall\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2012\/02\/chinas-syrian-firewall\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2012\/02\/chinas-syrian-firewall\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"China’s Syrian Firewall\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/\",\"name\":\"China Digital Times (CDT)\",\"description\":\"Covering China from Cyberspace\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#organization\",\"name\":\"China Digital Times\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/CDT-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/CDT-logo.jpg\",\"width\":186,\"height\":177,\"caption\":\"China Digital Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ChinaDigitalTimes\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/cdt\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#\/schema\/person\/3393334e12ee6be1f84abbe56c37b108\",\"name\":\"Scott Greene\",\"description\":\"Scott Greene grew up in Singapore and graduated from Middlebury College with a degree in East Asian Studies. His chief interests are Asian politics, business, media, information control, and international affairs.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/author\/scott-greene\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"China's Syrian Firewall","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2012\/02\/chinas-syrian-firewall\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"China's Syrian Firewall","og_description":"With China and the United States trading diplomatic barbs over how to address the deteriorating situation in Syria, The New Yorker’s Evan Osnos chases the reasons behind China’s position: Activists now put the death toll in Syria at more than eight thousand and climbing. If Russia\u2019s motives are easier to divine\u2014Assad has been a loyal […]","og_url":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2012\/02\/chinas-syrian-firewall\/","og_site_name":"China Digital Times (CDT)","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ChinaDigitalTimes","article_published_time":"2012-02-29T14:42:14+00:00","og_image":[{"width":186,"height":177,"url":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/CDT-logo.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Scott Greene","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@cdt","twitter_site":"@cdt","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Scott Greene","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2012\/02\/chinas-syrian-firewall\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2012\/02\/chinas-syrian-firewall\/"},"author":{"name":"Scott Greene","@id":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#\/schema\/person\/3393334e12ee6be1f84abbe56c37b108"},"headline":"China’s Syrian Firewall","datePublished":"2012-02-29T14:42:14+00:00","dateModified":"2012-02-29T14:42:14+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2012\/02\/chinas-syrian-firewall\/"},"wordCount":311,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#organization"},"keywords":["Libya","Russia","Syria","U.S. relations","United Nations"],"articleSection":["China & the World","Human Rights","Level 2 Article","Level 3 Article","Level 4 Article","Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2012\/02\/chinas-syrian-firewall\/","url":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2012\/02\/chinas-syrian-firewall\/","name":"China's Syrian Firewall","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-02-29T14:42:14+00:00","dateModified":"2012-02-29T14:42:14+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2012\/02\/chinas-syrian-firewall\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2012\/02\/chinas-syrian-firewall\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2012\/02\/chinas-syrian-firewall\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"China’s Syrian Firewall"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#website","url":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/","name":"China Digital Times (CDT)","description":"Covering China from Cyberspace","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#organization","name":"China Digital Times","url":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/CDT-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/CDT-logo.jpg","width":186,"height":177,"caption":"China Digital Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ChinaDigitalTimes","https:\/\/x.com\/cdt"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/#\/schema\/person\/3393334e12ee6be1f84abbe56c37b108","name":"Scott Greene","description":"Scott Greene grew up in Singapore and graduated from Middlebury College with a degree in East Asian Studies. His chief interests are Asian politics, business, media, information control, and international affairs.","url":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/author\/scott-greene\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/983"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132342\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}