As I see it | US election will not ease China’s insecurity, no matter who wins
- Close reading of fifth plenum’s communique shows extraordinary concern for national security in Beijing
- Party leadership under no illusion there will be a quick ‘reset’ in relations with Washington under Democratic challenger Joe Biden
The meeting of the party’s elite Central Committee, known as the fifth plenum, showed Beijing harbours no illusions of a looming “reset” in US-China rivalry. Instead, a grim picture emerged of China’s external challenges in an era of free-falling bilateral ties and the still-raging coronavirus pandemic.
“The international environment is becoming increasingly complex, with instability and uncertainty growing significantly,” said the official statement on Thursday, skipping any mention of the US or the imminent election.
Amid its vague and self-congratulatory rhetoric, the plenum’s communique placed an extraordinary weight on the notion of security – a phrase which appeared 22 times and was the most frequently used in the 6,000-word document.
China watchers believe the unusual emphasis underlines a strong sense of crisis and insecurity within the Chinese leadership amid the unprecedented challenges the country is facing at home and abroad.
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What happened at the Chinese Communist Party’s major policy meeting, the fifth plenum?
The clearest articulation of Beijing’s unease was made in August by China’s ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai, who told an online event hosted by the Brookings Institution that the Trump administration’s confrontational approach was an effort to “slow down and contain China’s development and even bring about a regime change”.