My Take | The use and abuse of the history of the Chinese tribute system
- America’s would-be cold warriors like to cite the dynastic trade and diplomatic system as a term of abuse and claim Beijing wants to revive it. But they display embarrassing cultural and historical ignorance about a complex subject whose nature and functions have been hotly debated by sinologists and Chinese diplomats alike
The more I read about China’s dynastic tribute system, the more confused I get. Like theologians who doubt the existence of God, I have read scholars who think it’s no more than a historical or diplomatic fiction. Others think it kept the peace and prosperity in Asia like a solar system with China at the centre during the Ming and Qing dynasties, at least until the 19th century.
Given the controversy, I am amused by American political leaders and opinion makers today who talk knowingly about the system and keep citing it as a warning against China’s hegemonic ambitions.
Among them have been former US defence secretary James Mattis, former national security adviser H.R. McMaster, and Republican senator and anti-China hawk Marco Rubio.
A summary of this American view can be found in the September issue of Foreign Affairs, with the essay “The Ideology Delusion: America’s Competition with China Is Not About Doctrine”, by two US foreign policy specialists, Elbridge Colby and Robert D. Kaplan.
“China very likely seeks to form a regional trade area favourable to its economy – a modern-day analogue to the tribute system that placed China at the heart of East Asia from the 14th to the 19th century,” they wrote.
“In a world now defined by rising barriers to trade, China would gain enormous advantage in shaping a large market area that conforms to its standards and benefits its workers and companies.”
Gaining advantages in trade and markets – how is that different from other powerful trading nations, say, the United States? Unfortunately, how such individuals think or misconceive matters because they belong to the political ruling class in the US that may well start a hot war with China.