China must watch for signs of rising nationalism spurred by tensions with the West, warns former top official

He Yiting, former executive vice-president of the Central Party School, favours opening up China over fostering populism

Chinese history professor says radical voices online only reinforced stereotypes in the US of a ‘red empire’

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Wu Jing, the story of the Wolf Warrior series, meets fans at an event to promote the nationalistic action movies. Photo: Imaginechina

Published: 8:42pm, 10 Mar 2021Updated: 9:29pm, 10 Mar 2021

A former top official responsible for training Communist Party cadres has warned against the rise of domestic nationalism while tensions between China and major powers were rising.

“(China should) continue to expand opening-up, actively and prudently handle relations with major countries, and prevent the rise of domestic populism,” said He Yiting, former executive vice-president of the Central Party School, during discussions in the Chongqing delegation dated last Friday.

He’s comment comes after relations between Beijing and Washington deteriorated sharply during the Trump administration and nationalist sentiment has risen as China confronts the US, Europe, and other countries over issues such as Hong Kong, Xinjiang and the South China Sea.

Chinese cartoonist Wuheqilin’s artwork commenting on the attack on the US Capitol building was posted on his Weibo social media account on January 10, 2021. Photo: Handout

In January, thousands of Chinese social media users used the attack on the Capitol in Washington to attack failures in the US political system including the cartoonist Wuheqilin, a self-proclaimed Wolf Warrior, who published a work called Separation of powers – Thief Mob Murderer.

Last May, a proposed regulation to make it a little easier for foreigners to get permanent residency in China caused uproar online, with many Chinese expressing strong opposition to the move.

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