[Opinion] China’s Diplomacy

On Saturday May 8, 1999, the secure telephones of senior officials of the Communist Party`s Politburo in Beijing began to ring loudly, even before 7a.m. The calls delivered the urgent message that in the past hour, U.S.-led NATO forces had bombed the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia. The atmosphere of the Politburo’s emergency meeting was grave and somber. “It was a provocation attempt to throw China into chaos under the heavy burden of war,” former Chinese President Jiang Zemin stated. It was the biggest crisis between China and the U.S. since the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Although the U.S. promptly explained that it was a misguided bombing, anti-American slogans quickly spread all across China. Hand-written posters saying “Are all the leaders of the country dead?” and “This government is worse than the Qing Dynasty’s,” covered the walls of Peking University. Moreover, the senior members of the Communist Party also blamed the leadership of the party, saying, “The U.S. wouldn’t have dared to do this when the ‘old man’ (Mao Zedong) was in power.”

However, then-vice president Hu Jintao, who made an appearance on TV the following night, urged the people toward calm while condemning the U.S. China, at the time, was trying desperately to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) and this would have been impossible without the help of the U.S.

China is shedding new light on its diplomatic ties with the U.S. in commemoration of the 35th anniversary of the late President Richard Nixon’s historical visit to China. A weekly magazine run by China`s official Xinhua News Agency summed up the bilateral ties in one word: “peaceful.” It added that the bilateral ties have gradually improved in the midst of peace and stability. This is a good example illustrating that China’s leadership takes a pragmatic approach toward the U.S.

China has also been in its “honeymoon” period with Japan. China heartily welcomed Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, when paying his first visit to China since his inauguration in September 2006, saying, “It is a journey that breaks the ice.” It was the same expression used when Nixon paid his visit to China. Of course, the U.S. and Japan have been in an extended honeymoon period. The title of the Armitage Report, which was released a few days ago, is also “The U.S.-Japan Alliance: Getting Asia Right through 2020.’ So with whom is Korea having its honeymoon?

Kim Chang-hyuk, Editorial Writer, chang@donga.com