China Briefing | Chinese nationalism is a double-edged sword for global ambitions

Over the past ten days, three seemingly unrelated news events have riled China’s internet users into massive overreactions that have highlighted the ugly side of nationalism. If left unchecked, such nationalist sentiments could be a cause for concern regarding China’s future as a global leader.

On May 17, a little-known Chinese actress, Xu Dabao, attended the opening ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival, dressed in a bright red gown featuring the five-star national flag. But the apparent attention-seeking gimmick backfired and provoked the ire of Chinese internet users who accused her of desecrating the flag, forcing her to apologise.

Ironically, back in 2001, Zhao Wei, a leading Chinese actress, wore a skinny dress featuring the Japanese national flag in a fashion shoot, causing a national uproar with internet users and official media accusing her of eulogising Japan. Zhao was forced to apologise repeatedly but the incident still haunts her career today.

On May 19, the US media reported that two Chinese fighter jets had flown too close to an American military radiation detection plane patrolling over the East China Sea two days earlier, an incident that prompted the US to complain to China through diplomatic and military channels. The US complained the intercept was “unprofessional” but the Chinese Ministry of Defence spokesman disputed the US claim, saying that the intercept was both professional and safe, and urged the US to stop surveillance activities close to Chinese waters and borders.

While reporting the incident, official Chinese media have seemed more interested in playing up the bit about one of the Chinese jets flying upside down, directly over the American plane, like it was performing a gymnastic somersault. Some official news portals even organised detailed graphics and animations to show how the “somersault” took place, with headlines praising the pilot’s bravery and technique.

Such reports have elicited a swell of nationalistic comments from internet users encouraging Chinese pilots to undertake more such manoeuvres to counter US surveillance. But these commentators fail to mention how dangerous such actions can be and seem to have forgotten the Hainan Island incident in 2001, when a Chinese fighter jet collided in mid air with a US spy plane during an intercept.