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A Responsible Great Power
Li Wen Yi
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Window washer on a high rise
in Shanghai. Fumiko
(doraemon)/ Creative Commons
Click image to enlarge.
The Managing Global Insecurity (MGI) project visited Beijing, China March 19-21, 2008 to elicit Chinese priorities and perspectives on international cooperation and revitalization of the multilateral security system. During the visit, MGI highlighted the vital role China, as a new great power, would play in the future of the international security system. If the prediction that China will be a rising great power almost seems a cliché, the questions of what kind of great power China wants to be, and can it reach its claim of being a responsible great power remains to be discussed.
It seems to the author that the more closely China integrates itself into the international economic and political mechanisms, the more pressure China will receive to behave as a responsible power, from both the international community and the domestic society.
This article will discuss different definitions set by foreigners and Chinese for China’s international responsibility, and to examine respectively how China meets those various criteria. To have a better understanding of the topic, it might be better to first have a look at why there is a growing demand for China to shoulder more international responsibility.
Motivations pushing China
Foreign views. Since Deng Xiaoping's government initiated the economic reform known as "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" in 1978, the Chinese economy has experienced rapid and steady growth. By 2007, China’s economic scale stood only after the US, Japan and Germany. Although its GDP accounts for only 5 percent of the world, China makes a contribution of roughly one-third of the global economy growth, according to the Chinese Data Online.
China’s power is also growing across political and military domains. Its diplomatic influence has expanded in recent years with its decision to engage the region through involvement in groupings such as the ASEAN plus three, six-party talks over North Korean. A giant country, China is blessed with large population, ample foreign reserves, and enormous production and demands. Foreign countries care about its stances toward global affairs, and expect China to play a bigger role in crisis management and stable maintenance.
However, the name of “great power responsibility” can be seen as an olive branch, as well as a hoop-tightening incantation (). It could be used by other major powers as a constraint for China’s development. As Shaun (2006) noted,, for America, the best scenario it would like to see is that China continues to gradually grow (as its growth is in line with America’s interest by creating opportunities for America’s exports and investments) but not rapid expand its international weight and influence.
Domestic views. As the Chinese government claims, the long-term purpose of China’s national development strategy is to be ‘strong, democratic and civilized by 2050.’ This overarching aim, and its requirement for peaceful and stable internal and external environments, will likely to guide China towards a more integration-ist, cooperative set of relations with the outside world, according to Davies (2008). As a matter of fact, to be a “responsible great power” and to pursue the road of a peaceful development has been the broad hope of many Chinese reform-minded leaders dating back more than a decade ago. The Chinese wish to be viewed as responsible as they saw this as being beneficial to domestic stability and regional peace, which will in turn spur its further growth.
Criteria for being a responsible great power
International view. In the field of economics, one of the criteria set for China is to further integrate itself into the world economy and open the domestic market. Mahbubani (2005) notes that China has made substantive concessions to gain entry to the WTO, has restructured its laws and regulations as to eliminate trade barriers and attract foreign investment. It has also joined the global intellectual property rights regime.
These moves have resulted in some reasonably positive comments in the international community. In the recent global financial crisis, however, there appears a higher expectation for China to play a crucial role in helping fixing the situation and building a multilateral economic system. For example, as the largest US foreign reserves holder, China should be willing to, without preconditions, lend to the IMF if it needs cash in the coming months, according to The Economist (2008).
Although many media have acknowledged China so far for its contribution to the crisis management, some foreign criticism still can be heard. From Yahoo News (2008), for instance, the news that China unveiled its sweeping plan for its domestic economy just several days before the starting of the G-20 meeting led to some negative comments abroad. They doubted that China was trying to contribute less to the global market.
With regard to the security arena, China has received affirm of its positive contribution in the Six-Party Talks over the North Korea. Concerning China’s participation in UN peacekeeping operations, it has also increased its engagement. According to Ping (2001), until October 2007, China has sent more than eight thousand soldiers in the peacekeeping tasks, being the second largest peacekeeping country. China has taken on the responsibility that came with its position as one of the Permanent Five on the UC Security Council. However, there are still a number of governments and scholars reluctant to depict China as a responsible state because it is not yet clear how China will utilize the material power accumulated during economic reform over the longer run.
According to Foot (2001), this reluctance relates to Beijing’s stated willingness to use force, if necessary, to resolve the Taiwan reunification issue and the suspicion that it might be willing to do the same in reference to outstanding claims in the South China Sea. China’s domestic political arrangements, however, have added to the uncertainty.
Similarly alarming from Beijing’s perspective has been the international debate over humanitarian intervention in response to the evidence of gross violations of human rights, as prominently articulated by the former UN Secretary General in September 1999.
Kofi Annan’s speech to the 54th session of the UN General Assembly averred that the global community had learned that it could not stand idly by watching gross and systematic violations of human rights, that state sovereignty was being redefined to encompass the idea of individual sovereignty, and that the global community’s contemporary reading of the UN Charter has been “more than ever conscious that its aim is to protect individual human beings, not to protect those who abuse them.”
Because it is the largest oil investor in Sudan, China’s foreign policy, which emphasizes traditional definition of state sovereignty and non-interference, was put into question. Western countries emphasize the fact that China is Sudan’s largest oil industry investor, (occupies the largest share of the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company), as well as Sudan’s biggest trade partner (Sudan exports around 71 percent of its export to China). Making such a huge contribution to the Sudan government’s revenue, China remains silent to the genocide and human rights violation inside that country. In this case of human rights protection, China is hard to meet the western criteria of being a responsible power in the international society.
Domestic view. As Osius (2001) notes, to maintain domestic stability and promote economic development has long been regarded as China’s national development strategy. This has also been seen as critically important in enhancing the legitimacy of CCP administration. In the face of the current financial crisis, asked what China will do to rescue the world from financial turmoil, Chinese officials have a boilerplate answer: “Our greatest contribution will be to keep our own economy running smoothly.”
The Chinese government has said, as a matter of fact, that an economic slowdown is already underway in China and could worsen next year. After years of double-digit expansion, even 6% annual growth feels like a hard landing and will exacerbate social tensions, sited The Economist (2008), Chinese leaders believe they need growth of at least 8% a year to avoid painful unemployment. To combat the situation, China unveiled its stimulus package this summer, 4 trillion Yuan, which would perhaps be the biggest peacetime stimulus yet. The package covers infrastructure building, health care, education and tax reform. To keep the economy growing steadily and to bring more Chinese out of poverty is still regarded as the foremost responsibility of the Chinese government.
As Berry (2004) suggests, there must be “differentiated responsibility” based on state capacity and level of development and many noted that China’s first responsibility was its internal affairs. With such a large country and a booming population, the Chinese government is doing not enough to make Chinese people cling on their cash and prepare how to meet unexpected medical bills, pay for good education for their children, and provide for their old age. Government health spending especially, at less than 1% of GDP, is woefully low and not tackled meaningfully in the recent stimulus package.
As most Chinese argue, the first layer of responsibility should be given to its own citizens.
However, a recent survey done by the Education Faculty of the University of Hong Kong in Beijing is worth noting. It shows that more than 30% of the younger generation nowadays in Beijing feels proud of being a global citizen, instead of just a person from Beijing, or being a Chinese. This may reflect that after the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese, so called “Bird’s Nest Generation” are more confident about its nation’s culture and economics. More and more Chinese care about their national image and want a bigger say on the global stage.
Consistent with the public opinion, China was beginning to see the impact of external factors on China’s internal affairs after years of focusing on internal development. Similarly, scholar Mahbubani (2005) characterized “transformation changes” in China’s foreign policy as China looked from traditional political security to more comprehensive economic, military, and political security and attached additional importance to transnational issues such as climate change. China is one of the Permanent Five on the UN Security Council, it helped convince North Korea to halt plutonium production and refrain from further missile tests. China as well was working together with the United States on developing cleaner technologies and reducing pollution.
All these may suggest that China is more integrated into the world and began to play an important role in the international society.
With regard to humanitarian intervention, however, the Chinese government cannot completely agree with the European-based concept, which emphasize that human rights transcend issues of sovereignty. The Sudan issue is a case in point. The Chinese government has adopted a non-interference principle so as to respect Sudan’s sovereignty. Rather than the use of sanction and violence, China is favorable to a “dialogue and peacefully negotiation” approach, which it feels is not irresponsible. China acknowledges the constructive role the UN and African Union play, but China has continuously provided Sudan an array of important economic aids. These range from the exemption of Sudan’s eight-thousand-US dollar debt, thirteen thousand US dollars interest free loan for infrastructure construction to sending 135 peacekeeping soldiers and several Chinese medical teams.
Moreover, some Chinese argue that it is those who sell weapons to the Sudan government rather than who contribute to Sudan’s economic growth, who should be blamed. While foreign media severely criticize China’s ‘irresponsible behavior’ in Sudan, it is hard for Chinese people to agree. Likewise, the western concept of human rights and democratic governance criteria for responsible state are very difficult for Beijing to satisfy, partly because it threatens core values of the Party-state. As Li Peng once stated, China promotes democracy and practices the rule of law but their road it not patterned on the Western approach that features the separation of powers, a multiparty system and privatization.
Although there exist calls from both the international community and the domestic society for China to play a bigger role in the international affairs and in the pursuit of a responsible great power, contradictions can be found among various criteria set by different groups of people. It is rather difficult to reach a consensus on what constitutes responsible behaviors, which has always been, a highly political act.
It is a curious point that how other countries, especially those major powers perceive China will play a crucial role in deciding whether China can be internationally responsible. There could be two scenarios: the temptation to apply completely western conditionality that will leave China alienated form cooperative arrangements; and to help China to participate in international mechanisms, which would greatly reduce suspicions in China about the intention of Western countries and establish channels between China and other major powers for mutual consultation with each other, thereby paving China’s way to be a responsible great power.
As to this author's perspective, China will continue to loom large on the global horizon and endeavors to formulate an image as a cooperative and responsible great power. This is a power in accord with its own state capacity and level of development, a power with Chinese characteristic with a preference to a gradualism and negotiation based approach.
Reference
Glyn Berry (2004). Sovereignty as the responsiblity to prevent, protect, and rebuild.
Managing Global Insecurity Conference.
Shaun Berslin (2006). China's Rise to leadership in Asia---strategies, obstacles and achievements. University of Warwick.
China's fiscal stimulus. (2008). yahoo news.
Hugh Davies (2008). China Today, the Wakening Dragon . Asian Affairs, 1-17.
Dr Keynes's Chinese patient. (2008). The Economist, 12.
R. Foot, (2001, 1). Chinese Power and the Idea of a Responsible State. The China Journal , pp. 1-19.
Kishore Mahbubani (10, 2005). Understanding China. Foreign Affairs, pp. 25-50.
Ted Osius (10, 2001). Discussion of "the Rise of China in Chinses Eyes". Journal of Contemporary China, pp.41-44.
LiXia Peng (10,2001). China: a responsible great power. Journal of Contemporary China, pp. 17-25.
Li Wen Yi, formerly a television and broadcast journalist in
China, and briefly an editorial assistant at The World and I
Online, is a graduate student at Oxford University.
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