In Xi’s new era, Chinese diplomacy will be a display of hard power

Deng Yuwen says China’s communist leaders signalled at their 19th party congress that a muscular foreign policy, seen as vital for the country’s peaceful development, will guide decisions on core interests

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There is a popular saying in Chinese diplomatic circles: To fight for peace, peace will prevail; to compromise for peace, peace will disappear. This will be China’s motto following the 19th party congress. Illustration: Craig Stephens

Published: 5:15pm, 31 Oct 2017Updated: 7:24pm, 31 Oct 2017

What kind of foreign policies will China adopt following the 19th party congress? Will Beijing maintain the hardline stance it has adopted in its disputes with others, or take a softer and more flexible approach? These are questions that the international community is asking, especially China’s neighbours.

President Xi Jinping’s work report at the party congress offers a clue. Among his 14 points of how to develop “socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era” is a commitment to “build a community with a shared future for humanity”. Xi pledged that China would pursue peaceful development, and adopt an open-minded, win-win approach to matters of shared concern; abandon cold-war ideologies and power politics, and choose dialogue over confrontation; and, contribute to world peace and global development, while defending the international order.

These words appear to signal that China is preparing to soften its forceful, sometimes aggressive, diplomacy. However, if we were to compare what was said in the 18th party congress report to what China actually did in the five years hence, there is reason to believe that what Beijing says may not be what it will do.

Chinese diplomacy over the past five years has largely left the international community with the impression of a tough China. Today as Beijing tries to counter the “China threat” theory, it may try to exercise some restraint in words, if not in deeds. Still, it is unlikely to back down over issues seen as encroaching on its “core interests”, such as territorial integrity and national security. In short, China could be soft in words, but tough in action.

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It’s important to understand Xi’s “new era”, a term that reflects his judgment of where China stands today. In this new era, “China must become strong” – a different goal from Mao Zedong’s time (“China must stand up”) and in Deng Xiaoping’s time (China must “get rich”).