By Kawsu Walter Ceesay
China’s conception of “Chinese wisdom” deforms China’s past and limits its future.
Much has been written about China’s changing foreign policy since the new Chinese leadership under Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang took power on November 15, 2012. It’s surprising, then, that one new catch-phrase in China’s evolving diplomacy has gone largely unnoticed: “Chinese wisdom.”
At the APEC summit in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi underlined, “We want to use the advantage of our home ground. Under the conditions of democratic transparency and the basis of sufficient consultation, we want energetically sent out China’s voice, put forward China’s proposals and contribute China’s wisdom.” On the one hand, the Chinese leadership refers to Chinese wisdom in the context of the so-called home-field diplomacy, describing China’s effort to use its advantage as host to promote its own proposals and ideas. On the other hand, China’s new catch phrase also appears at events outside of China, like the sixth BRICS summit in Brazil.
What is behind this idea of Chinese wisdom? Overall, the phrase encompasses many diplomatic concepts, ideas, or proposals that emerged in China’s diplomacy since 2013: the New Asian Security Concept, the Nuclear Security Concept, China’s new neighborhood diplomacy and “new type great power relations.” Officially, many of those new diplomatic efforts are aimed at preventing a repeat of historical zero-sum games and at creating international equality. Interestingly, Chinese media praises Chinese wisdom only as a new tool to handle international affairs while neglecting its impact on and roots in China’s internal affairs.
Read the full story at The Diplomat