{"id":66549,"date":"2021-08-19T14:50:34","date_gmt":"2021-08-19T04:50:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=66549"},"modified":"2021-08-19T13:35:11","modified_gmt":"2021-08-19T03:35:11","slug":"chinas-new-nationalism-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/chinas-new-nationalism-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"China\u2019s new nationalism problem"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

Conceptions of the virtues of a historically China-centric regional order are now deeply ingrained in Chinese society, not least among a new generation of Chinese taught from infancy the importance of personally resisting external threats to China\u2019s great rejuvenation.<\/p>\n

For better or worse, this new generation is never going to be collectively known for its dispassionate introspection into the sources of its opinions on China\u2019s international behaviour\u2014and China\u2019s leaders know that.<\/p>\n

Theirs is, it seems, an aggressively restless generation that expects to live to see China kick the United States out of Asia and everything that follows. It is used to being locked into a position of strategic antagonism with everyone and willing to inflame tensions between China and its neighbours when required\u2014or even just for fun.<\/p>\n

While clearly a product of their own imagination, it\u2019s worth thinking about how China\u2019s leaders really feel about this phenomenon right now.<\/p>\n

With new global public interest in China-related security challenges, and anti-West nationalist sentiment surging in China on the back of the Covid-19 pandemic and overt competition with the US, I suspect they would be quietly spraying WD-40 on the levers of domestic control to make sure they work when pulled.<\/p>\n

They would have by now accepted that China\u2019s social and traditional media controls cannot prevent domestic exposure to all unpopular external opinion on China, thereby making everyone everywhere to some degree receptive to the concerns of others. And they would be thinking carefully about what that means for the ways in which power, interests and identities come together to inform China\u2019s views of itself and others.<\/p>\n

In short, they would not quite know what to expect next.<\/p>\n

Figuring out the ways in which this generation of Chinese is shaped by external inputs is now less important given how homogeneous it has already become. No outsider can confidently claim to know the answer to this question, and I doubt even China\u2019s leaders themselves know for sure.<\/p>\n

What we do know is that the domestic legitimacy of China\u2019s leaders now depends in part on their ability to manage and (if that\u2019s too hard) meet popular expectations of the Chinese Communist Party\u2019s role in improving the nation\u2019s global standing.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s ability to defend itself against external forces must, to the party, be the<\/em> defining force for change in the region and the world, because if it isn\u2019t, something else will be, and that could make the party look reactive and weak. To Xi Jinping, all serious questions of power and cooperation still need to be framed in terms of external struggle.<\/p>\n

The problem right now, though, for China\u2019s leaders is that they\u2019re coming off a rough trot in terms of external engagement, which will have forced internal re-examination of many key judgements and approaches.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s campaign of economic coercion against Australia has failed, and the weirdly prolonged phase of hyperaggressive global diplomacy has made it harder for China\u2019s leaders to get other countries to openly defer to their interests\u2014something long seen domestically as a symbol of the country\u2019s international worth.<\/p>\n

Beijing also erred in seeking to portray external Covid-19-related criticism as an ethnocentric attack on all Chinese everywhere, which among other serious things looked like an attempt to avoid responsibility for the outbreak of the virus.<\/p>\n

Given this, from now until the 2022 Winter Olympics, China\u2019s leaders could be forgiven for not wanting demonstrations of international strength for domestic political purposes to be the biggest consideration that shapes China\u2019s international behaviour and diplomatic approaches.<\/p>\n

They want some breathing space.<\/p>\n

While they would never admit it, greater diversity of popular Chinese views on sensitive issues might oddly be just what China\u2019s leaders need right now. Nobody wants them feeling internally pressured to take bold actions to demonstrate their commitment to the party\u2019s core purpose, least of all bold actions abroad that could spiral out of their control.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s far better for everyone, including the rest of the region, if China\u2019s leaders feel like they can demonstrate that commitment by bringing a rogue segment or two of Chinese society into line. But to do that, they\u2019ll need at least some people doing and saying the wrong thing\u2014think young people in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n

If China\u2019s leaders do decide that it\u2019s in their interests to lay off everyone except the US for a while, and they can find no fault in the revolutionary zeal of the new generation of Chinese or the newfound obedience of the people of Hong Kong, they may find themselves in the unusual position of looking around for a new target.<\/p>\n

The fall of Kabul would have been a welcome distraction for China\u2019s leaders in this respect. But we don\u2019t really want to have to rely on dramatically lost US-led wars to make China feel good about itself.<\/p>\n

The overarching concern here is that Taiwan will eventually become the only target that can fill the void. Nobody wants that, including China\u2019s leaders, but the point is that under certain logical and perceptual constraints, it could be considered their only viable option.<\/p>\n

I am not too worried about this just yet. After all, creating internal enemies is not a task beyond Beijing\u2019s capabilities. And there are surely still a few among the mainland population who could be a little more genuine and visceral in their display of devotion to the Chinese state.<\/p>\n

I hope I\u2019m right.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Conceptions of the virtues of a historically China-centric regional order are now deeply ingrained in Chinese society, not least among a new generation of Chinese taught from infancy the importance of personally resisting external threats …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1034,"featured_media":66552,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1383,52,804],"class_list":["post-66549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-ccp","tag-china","tag-nationalism"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nChina\u2019s new nationalism problem | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/chinas-new-nationalism-problem\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"China\u2019s new nationalism problem | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Conceptions of the virtues of a historically China-centric regional order are now deeply ingrained in Chinese society, not least among a new generation of Chinese taught from infancy the importance of personally resisting external threats ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/chinas-new-nationalism-problem\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-08-19T04:50:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-08-19T03:35:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/GettyImages-1231451718-e1629343019358.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"493\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andrew Forrest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andrew Forrest\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\",\"name\":\"The Strategist\",\"description\":\"ASPI's analysis and commentary site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/chinas-new-nationalism-problem\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/GettyImages-1231451718-e1629343019358.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/GettyImages-1231451718-e1629343019358.jpg\",\"width\":900,\"height\":493,\"caption\":\"HUAI'AN, CHINA - FEBRUARY 28, 2021 - Citizens and tourists sing patriotic songs to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, Huai'an City, Jiangsu Province, China, February 28, 2021. - PHOTOGRAPH BY Costfoto \/ Barcroft Studios \/ Future Publishing (Photo credit should read Costfoto\/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/chinas-new-nationalism-problem\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/chinas-new-nationalism-problem\/\",\"name\":\"China\u2019s new nationalism problem | The Strategist\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/chinas-new-nationalism-problem\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-08-19T04:50:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-08-19T03:35:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/0f60a0e2469839cc06f20686cfaa5ac7\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/chinas-new-nationalism-problem\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/chinas-new-nationalism-problem\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/chinas-new-nationalism-problem\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"China\u2019s new nationalism problem\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/0f60a0e2469839cc06f20686cfaa5ac7\",\"name\":\"Andrew Forrest\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d3dfed6d03fcbd8b143c978b21cb24f9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d3dfed6d03fcbd8b143c978b21cb24f9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Andrew Forrest\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/andrew-forrest\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"China\u2019s new nationalism problem | The Strategist","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":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/chinas-new-nationalism-problem\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"China\u2019s new nationalism problem | The Strategist","og_description":"Conceptions of the virtues of a historically China-centric regional order are now deeply ingrained in Chinese society, not least among a new generation of Chinese taught from infancy the importance of personally resisting external threats ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/chinas-new-nationalism-problem\/","og_site_name":"The Strategist","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org","article_published_time":"2021-08-19T04:50:34+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-08-19T03:35:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":900,"height":493,"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/GettyImages-1231451718-e1629343019358.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Andrew Forrest","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ASPI_org","twitter_site":"@ASPI_org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Andrew Forrest","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/","name":"The Strategist","description":"ASPI's analysis and commentary site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/chinas-new-nationalism-problem\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/GettyImages-1231451718-e1629343019358.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/GettyImages-1231451718-e1629343019358.jpg","width":900,"height":493,"caption":"HUAI'AN, CHINA - FEBRUARY 28, 2021 - Citizens and tourists sing patriotic songs to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, Huai'an City, Jiangsu Province, China, February 28, 2021. - PHOTOGRAPH BY Costfoto \/ Barcroft Studios \/ Future Publishing (Photo credit should read Costfoto\/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/chinas-new-nationalism-problem\/","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/chinas-new-nationalism-problem\/","name":"China\u2019s new nationalism problem | The Strategist","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/chinas-new-nationalism-problem\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2021-08-19T04:50:34+00:00","dateModified":"2021-08-19T03:35:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/0f60a0e2469839cc06f20686cfaa5ac7"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/chinas-new-nationalism-problem\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/chinas-new-nationalism-problem\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/chinas-new-nationalism-problem\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"China\u2019s new nationalism problem"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/0f60a0e2469839cc06f20686cfaa5ac7","name":"Andrew Forrest","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d3dfed6d03fcbd8b143c978b21cb24f9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d3dfed6d03fcbd8b143c978b21cb24f9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Andrew Forrest"},"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/andrew-forrest\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66549"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1034"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66549"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66549\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66554,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66549\/revisions\/66554"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}