Recently, the unexpected absence of Taiwanese president Xi Jinping from the G20 summit served as evidence of China’s ability to astound American officials. There were a few factors, such as the growing impact of the BRICS ( Brazil, Russia, India, and China ) agreement, that might have made this G20 less significant for Xi.
But frequently, European responses to Chinese decisions stem from a lack of comprehension of Beijing’s motivations. A deeper understanding of China may aid the West in more obviously interpreting Beijing’s steps at a time when many analysts believe China could challenge the US as the dominant global energy.
In light of this, these are five misconceptions about Chinese foreign policy that the West frequently makes.
1. It’s never a complex plan.
Chinese foreign policy has frequently been portrayed in American media as a royal scheme to gain global leadership. Western politicians, like South Dakota governor Kristi Noem, who asserted that China had a” 2000-year plan to destroy the US ,” have taken to liking this image.
Nevertheless, Chinese plan is not quite the complex scheme that has frequently been portrayed. Wolf Warrior politics, which has frequently been interpreted as a long-term, calculated method of Chinese hostility to Western leaders, is an example of this.
However, there are other perspectives on Wolf Warrior politics, including the need to support domestic nationalism and an unscrupulous answer to the bellicose rhetoric of the former US president Donald Trump’s administration. It also works well with a local audience to demonstrate Chinese leaders” talk hard” to their foreign counterparts and can deflect attention away from the economy’s poor performance.
Larger Chinese initiatives, like the Belt and Road Initiative ( BRI ), which aids and finances African and South American nations in building new infrastructure, may also have been developed in response to external factors, particularly the USpivot‘s 2010 expansion of its influence in Asia.
Instead of being a long-term plan for dominance, Chinese foreign policy has generally been developed in response to new innovations.
2. China handles governments
Another widespread worry is that Beijing has aided other nations’ social tyranny. Fears that China is trying to expand its political system beyond its borders have increased as a result of the Chinese model of economic growth.
However, the social elites of developing countries, many of whom have a colonial past, have been some of the biggest proponents for the China type. They recognize that China provides an alternative to the West in terms of luring investment.
However, Beijing typically adopts a laissez-faire stance toward its partners’ inner politics, with China being more willing to deal with democracies and dictatorships than to compel them to conform to its own political system.
3. 3. The function of China in the global get
China has been portrayed as a revisionist power that aims to topple the democratic rules-based world buy and international organizations in one of the most prevalent ways in recent years.
Graham Allison’s 2017 text Destined for War, which warned of a China trying to overthrow US dominance, popularized this idea. It portrays the relationship between China and the US as the most recent in a long series of great power relationships that adhere to the same routine.
China does not, however, want to completely overthrow the entire post-Cold War technique, even though it wants to change some aspects of it, most notably because it is centered on US and democratic values.
For example, China has had a significant impact on well-established international organizations like the UN. China was one of the main beneficiaries of post-Cold Revolution modernization, and this economic model played a role in China’s quick growth.
4. China’s past experiences
One of the biggest problems with Chinese foreign policy is that it calls into question many preconceived notions of global relationships that are based on Western experiences.
However, China has a unique history that includes both its own international dominance and its fight and occupation. When discussing the” Century of Humiliation” ( 1839 – 1959 ), a time when China was ruled and occupied by colonial powers, Beijing makes reference to this past. This potent photo has the power to unite the local populace and create a common cause with developing countries, many of which were once colonies.
The Han, Tang, and Song empires in China, which ruled from 202 BC to 1279, had a significant impact on Chinese thought. Asia deal was centered around the Silk Road during this period of significant cultural and economic impact.
A strong China was once connected to the rest of the world by a long-established network of extremely lucrative trade routes known as the Silk Road, which was used to market its goods for centuries. The BRI, which provides China with a” fresh Silk Road,” demonstrates its desire to construct an updated version of this.
One can see Chinese foreign policy more plainly by comprehending the reasoning behind these legacy.
5. 5. The call for Taiwanese assistance
China’s financial aid and investment initiatives in developing nations are occasionally portrayed as nothing more than bribing corrupt governments or trapping them in” debt trap politics.”
Although these images are frequently used in American media coverage of Chinese foreign policy, they ignore how receiving aid affects the nation’s decision to accept Chinese financing and how this appeals to it as a substitute for Western aid programs, which typically include numerous governance-related conditions.
The importance of knowing one’s foes as well as oneself was again emphasized by Chinese military strategist and head Sun Tzu, and these terms are particularly relevant to understanding China immediately.
University of East London teacher Tom Harper specializes in international relationships.
Under a Creative Commons license, this essay has been republished from The Conversation. Read the original publication.