I wonder how much the wolf warriorism was also seen as an opportunity to critique *something*, particularly from a political angle? Do you think there was any sense of that at all?
Excellent observations. I certainly don't know for sure...if anyone does...but I think this might link to a few comments in the not distant past, paraphrased along the lines of "You (the west) talk about democracy. We have democracy that suits our system"... which I interpreted to mean we argued our asses off behind closed doors and Xi listened.
From my perch in Wuhan, it's apparent there are some very smart people running operations at high levels, and they are increasingly at odds with Big Daddy's proclamations of the recent past. Take for instance the not distant past initiative where all State universities were going to be renamed "University of Marxist Something Or Other". That kinda evaporated so quickly even the university professors were amused.
There has been a small mountain of policy papers from the highest levels of academic party members politely and respectfully proposing recommendations that are/were all at odds with Xi's proclamations. No one was taking a direct shot at Xi or dissing current Party policy, but all were recommending paths directly the opposite of Xi's proclamations. I think Xi was listening, or was forced to listen because his stuff wasn't working for all the obvious reasons.
I liken it to the Catholic church, which folks think is an unchanging monolith. If one reviews the large number of encyclicals constantly coming out of the Vatican, and reads them closely, one will see little changes here, and another there, and subsequent teeny shifts in outward initiatives. I am not the first or only individual to note this.
From a historical perspective, it fits. Emperors proclaim and maybe even get traction for a bit, and then actual policy is effectuated by the bureaucracy with minute changes in different areas as functionaries tune things to fit their local needs.
Or not. It's all conjecture on my part. I'm just glad the WW crap is shitcanned. That guy on late night TV with the camo gear spouting inanities was obnoxious. I've also noticed a distinct lightening up in my relationships that's pleasant.
Some interesting points. You're right. It's all signals and noise. Hence, just thoughts, observations... but a few signs that some hubris has been swallowed of late.
"I've also noticed a distinct lightening up in my relationships that's pleasant". Phew. Hope so. The 'feels' was a large part of me leaving end '21. Glad that's softening back up.
Yeah, no doubt. Lotta noise. I was here in 2020, quarantined in Enshi Prefecture for 120 days, and in Hubei for most of the rest of 2020 and it sucked. Sucked bad. The clamps were tight. Then, we were locked out and I didn't see my wife other than Facetime for 2 years. Finally got back in last year, and things feel cool again. We'll see how it goes.
The reaction to Trump factor is really interesting. Thanks for writing this. We've been lucky to have an Uzbek media studies scholar around The Carter Center this semester, and the image he's given of Chinese media strategies is in line with the new-old strategy you mention. Tons of free trips to China for Central Asian journalists and scholars, plus training on how to cover China provided in Beijing. I don't think this is necessarily out of line. It's pretty common diplomacy, but it is a very different approach from a few years ago.
What's flooring me is the political economy behind Chinese international media now. I'm hearing stories from folks in Latin America who've found Chinese funding keeping the lights on at a lot of publications. (See Igor Patrick's recent book)
Interview with the Uzbek scholar, Abbos Bobokhonov, here if you are interested:
Thank you. And I'll check that out. Yes, I hadn't heard too many people make the link between Wolf Warriorism / Trump.
And you're bang on. It's underplayed how much state sinks into B&R / Global South, and equally how much traffic media derive from it. Xinhua was a revenue behemoth driven by SE. Asia, LatAm & Africa when I was there; partnerships only increased since.
You may be right that Trump's tweets and generally unconventional and abrasive style inspired China's state media and diplomats to adopt a similar style in response (although this was obviously sanctioned from the very top). But Xi Jinping's China was never going to behave like Hu Jintao's China on the world stage.
The recent shift towards a more friendly attitude is due, in my opinion, more to the country's genuine economic problems than to the feeling that there has been a backlash in international public opinion. The Pew Research poll you share in the article suggests the backlash was mostly in the West. Opinions on China remain largely favourable in most of Asia, Africa and Latin America. Where they don't, it is in countries that have territorial disputes with China (India, Philippines) or are naturally in the Western/democratic camp, like South Korea and Japan.
It was always obvious that "Wolf Warriorism" was not going to go down well with most Westerners, since much of it is about attacking the West itself. This was understood; the attitude was that China doesn't need to care what Westerners think, because it is now strong and powerful. China's current problems suggest this confidence was misplaced. China needs its relations with the West to remain at some baseline level of decency so that its economy can function. The people at the top seem to have understood this now, hence the change in tone and rhetoric.
Related to your thoughts and experiences on many levels. Thanks for sharing
Loved this (and not too long at all)!
I wonder how much the wolf warriorism was also seen as an opportunity to critique *something*, particularly from a political angle? Do you think there was any sense of that at all?
Also, RIP Hua Chunying's amazing tweets.
Excellent observations. I certainly don't know for sure...if anyone does...but I think this might link to a few comments in the not distant past, paraphrased along the lines of "You (the west) talk about democracy. We have democracy that suits our system"... which I interpreted to mean we argued our asses off behind closed doors and Xi listened.
From my perch in Wuhan, it's apparent there are some very smart people running operations at high levels, and they are increasingly at odds with Big Daddy's proclamations of the recent past. Take for instance the not distant past initiative where all State universities were going to be renamed "University of Marxist Something Or Other". That kinda evaporated so quickly even the university professors were amused.
There has been a small mountain of policy papers from the highest levels of academic party members politely and respectfully proposing recommendations that are/were all at odds with Xi's proclamations. No one was taking a direct shot at Xi or dissing current Party policy, but all were recommending paths directly the opposite of Xi's proclamations. I think Xi was listening, or was forced to listen because his stuff wasn't working for all the obvious reasons.
I liken it to the Catholic church, which folks think is an unchanging monolith. If one reviews the large number of encyclicals constantly coming out of the Vatican, and reads them closely, one will see little changes here, and another there, and subsequent teeny shifts in outward initiatives. I am not the first or only individual to note this.
From a historical perspective, it fits. Emperors proclaim and maybe even get traction for a bit, and then actual policy is effectuated by the bureaucracy with minute changes in different areas as functionaries tune things to fit their local needs.
Or not. It's all conjecture on my part. I'm just glad the WW crap is shitcanned. That guy on late night TV with the camo gear spouting inanities was obnoxious. I've also noticed a distinct lightening up in my relationships that's pleasant.
Some interesting points. You're right. It's all signals and noise. Hence, just thoughts, observations... but a few signs that some hubris has been swallowed of late.
"I've also noticed a distinct lightening up in my relationships that's pleasant". Phew. Hope so. The 'feels' was a large part of me leaving end '21. Glad that's softening back up.
Yeah, no doubt. Lotta noise. I was here in 2020, quarantined in Enshi Prefecture for 120 days, and in Hubei for most of the rest of 2020 and it sucked. Sucked bad. The clamps were tight. Then, we were locked out and I didn't see my wife other than Facetime for 2 years. Finally got back in last year, and things feel cool again. We'll see how it goes.
The reaction to Trump factor is really interesting. Thanks for writing this. We've been lucky to have an Uzbek media studies scholar around The Carter Center this semester, and the image he's given of Chinese media strategies is in line with the new-old strategy you mention. Tons of free trips to China for Central Asian journalists and scholars, plus training on how to cover China provided in Beijing. I don't think this is necessarily out of line. It's pretty common diplomacy, but it is a very different approach from a few years ago.
What's flooring me is the political economy behind Chinese international media now. I'm hearing stories from folks in Latin America who've found Chinese funding keeping the lights on at a lot of publications. (See Igor Patrick's recent book)
Interview with the Uzbek scholar, Abbos Bobokhonov, here if you are interested:
https://uscnpm.substack.com/p/interview-growing-bonds-between-china-d23?r=3gkgmf
Thank you. And I'll check that out. Yes, I hadn't heard too many people make the link between Wolf Warriorism / Trump.
And you're bang on. It's underplayed how much state sinks into B&R / Global South, and equally how much traffic media derive from it. Xinhua was a revenue behemoth driven by SE. Asia, LatAm & Africa when I was there; partnerships only increased since.
Your perspective is very interesting.
I think you might be exaggerating the extent of Trump's influence. After Xi Jinping took office, it was already clear that there had been a change of attitude on the Chinese side. Take Wang Yi's angry outburst at a press conference in Canada in 2016, for instance: https://www.theguardian.com/law/2016/jun/02/chinese-foreign-minister-canada-angry-human-rights-question
You may be right that Trump's tweets and generally unconventional and abrasive style inspired China's state media and diplomats to adopt a similar style in response (although this was obviously sanctioned from the very top). But Xi Jinping's China was never going to behave like Hu Jintao's China on the world stage.
The recent shift towards a more friendly attitude is due, in my opinion, more to the country's genuine economic problems than to the feeling that there has been a backlash in international public opinion. The Pew Research poll you share in the article suggests the backlash was mostly in the West. Opinions on China remain largely favourable in most of Asia, Africa and Latin America. Where they don't, it is in countries that have territorial disputes with China (India, Philippines) or are naturally in the Western/democratic camp, like South Korea and Japan.
It was always obvious that "Wolf Warriorism" was not going to go down well with most Westerners, since much of it is about attacking the West itself. This was understood; the attitude was that China doesn't need to care what Westerners think, because it is now strong and powerful. China's current problems suggest this confidence was misplaced. China needs its relations with the West to remain at some baseline level of decency so that its economy can function. The people at the top seem to have understood this now, hence the change in tone and rhetoric.