My Take | US should stop crying wolf about China
- Whether it’s a ‘no limits’ relationship between two countries, an alleged genocide, or wasteful industrial policy, the criticisms have all come back to haunt Washington
When one country criticises another, it’s almost always self-serving. This is especially true with the United States vis-à-vis China. But its criticisms used to stick much longer. Now they unravel much more quickly, sometimes even as soon as they are voiced.
This is not the case, however, with China. Having instinctively adhered to non-interference, Beijing usually rebuts outside criticisms rather than initiates them against other countries.
It believes each state should deal with its own problems on its own rather than distracting them by lecturing others. Contrary to US Secretary of States Antony Blinken’s claim that this is sweeping one’s domestic problems under the rug, it’s more a matter of “it’s none of your business”.
This may be why Chinese officials are much more welcome across Africa and many developing countries than Western but especially American ones.
In all these, I can immediately think of three recent examples, though there are probably many others that can be cited. Here they are: the “no limits” relationship between China and Russia; alleged genocide in Xinjiiang; and counterproductive state planning or industrial policy.
In each case, American politicians and pundits have promoted or used the criticism as part of a diplomatic or media method to attack China. And yet, as time goes on, their criticisms have boomeranged. It turns out that they are truer of the United States than of China. As they say, what goes around comes around.