Opinion | A garbled foreign policy does China no good

In mid-November, after being anointed as leader of the Communist Party of China, Xi Jinping met members of the international media and impressed them with his self-confidence and sense of humour. Throughout his address, he said not a word about foreign policy.

His focus on domestic issues is understandable. China's biggest problems are domestic ones. Its budget for ensuring domestic stability exceeds its defence budget, reflecting the government's priorities. From the party's standpoint, the main threat is internal, not external.

While this may be true, it is dangerous not to have someone at the top guide the nation's foreign policy. China has argued that its recent diplomatic problems were initiated by its neighbours, such as Japan and the Philippines. All Beijing did, officials said, was to react. But this is not what a great country should do.

By not focusing on foreign affairs, the central authorities are allowing lower-level officials to direct foreign policy, possibly with disastrous results.

The issuing of new passports last year, imprinted with maps showing areas disputed with other countries as Chinese soil, was a case in point. That decision was made by the police, whose duties include issuing passports. The result was that neighbouring countries were up in arms.

Ironically, China used to consider foreign policy of the highest importance. Premier Zhou Enlai was at the same time the foreign minister. Even in the late 1990s, the foreign minister, Qian Qichen , was a member of the Politburo.

Today, however, the foreign minister is only a member of the Central Committee, which has more than 200 members.