China is beating America on foreign policy: just compare Rex Tillerson and Wang Yi

Tom Plate says while China’s Wang Yi is confident and optimistic, Rex Tillerson appears to be on shaky ground, especially amid mixed messages from the White House. If America wants to keep its lead in global affairs, a clear statement of purpose is the first priority

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Whereas the foreign minister of China looks secure and competent, the American one looks shaky, even over his head. Illustration: Craig Stephens

Published: 5:43pm, 18 Dec 2017Updated: 9:26pm, 18 Dec 2017

If you’d like a snapshot of the current state of US diplomacy versus the state of Chinese diplomacy, simply compare how the two top diplomats of each country are doing.

Whereas the foreign minister of China looks well-suited, secure and competent, the American one looks shaky, even over his head.

Let’s start with the American secretary of state, Mr Rex Wayne Tillerson. Unaccustomed as I am to defending former US oil executives, still, in all decency, somebody might tender a nice word for the once CEO and chair of ExxonMobil. Though Secretary Tillerson is on the outs with his boss and may soon be flat out of office, he is not remotely the weakest appointment in the Donald Trump administration.

Tillerson had been well-touted by widely respected former defence secretary Robert Gates, as well as by former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice. The appointment took place in February. It has been a bumpy ride ever since.

Striking gold is never easy, whether in vital appointments or in the big-time oil business; but, in the field of international diplomacy, itself a slippery, oily place, Tillerson found himself on extremely unfamiliar turf. Not to be crude about it, but reports out of Washington say his days are numbered.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson speaks as President Donald Trump looks on, after Tillerson’s swearing-in ceremony in the White House Oval Office on February 1. Photo: Bloomberg