U.S. Generals and Admirals Receive an Insiders’ Perspective on Chinese Foreign Policy

IMGXYZ3286IMGZYX2010 was a difficult year for U.S.-China relations driving home the need for higher-level and more frequent exchange of views. The Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy hosted a meeting between senior Chinese scholars and a U.S. military delegation from U.S. Capstone, an initiative that provides joint service professional military education courses for newly promoted brigadier generals and rear admirals serving in the U.S. military. The event was moderated by Carnegie-Tsinghua Resident Scholar, Dr. Chen Qi.

Below is a summary of the Chinese presentations made to the U.S. Capstone delegation.

Perspectives from Within

Chinese scholars noted that many different viewpoints exist within China about its domestic and foreign policies. They offered examples of four common Chinese perspectives:

• Citizens First: These individuals view China’s citizens and their well-being as the top priorities of the government.
   
• Globalization Supporters: Members of this group want China to adhere to mainstream international opinions and norms. This group is often viewed as the greatest beneficiary of globalization.
   
• Suspicious: This group is characterized by people who depict the United States as a worldhegemony and view China as complicit in spreading world capitalism.
   
• No Ideology: This final group views China’s government and party leaders as pragmatists and flexible, not overly concerned with ideology.

The scholars cautioned that although China’s GDP has steadily increased for the past twenty years, such numbers should not be viewed as the sole indicator of China’s position. 

• Two Chinas: Shi Yinhong of Renmin University described two Chinas: the first is modern and cosmopolitan, while the second is impoverished and under-developed These two different Chinas have different needs and goals that Beijing must address.
   
• A Process: Retired Chinese Major General Pan Zhenqiang, Professor at the National Defense University and former Director of the Institute of Strategic Studies, argued that China’s global rise should be seen as part of a long process. Quoting former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, he said that it will likely take “generations and generations” for China to achieve its full potential.  Given that China is in the middle, rather than at the end, of this process, Pan said that China’s primary national interest will continue to be sustainable development—which, he pointed out, requires a peaceful international environment. He contended that China’s main priorities are internal, rather than driven by external issues.

Border Disagreements

Participants noted that China’s existing border disagreements have a long history that precedes the country’s communist government. Beijing has deliberately chosen to use international cooperation as the best way to resolve such challenges through negotiation. 

China and the United States

A close relationship with the United States remains a top foreign policy priority for Beijing, and overall relations are improving. Nonetheless, participants noted that much can be done to accelerate the pace of that improvement, as well as to resolve issues between the two countries.

• Navigation on South China Sea: Pan raised concerns over U.S. reconnaissance activities in the region, pointing out that any similar activities by the Chinese navy near the U.S. coast would be unthinkable.
   
• Top-down approach: Chinese scholars encouraged U.S. leaders not to define their relationship with China on specific issues. Rather, they believe basic assumptions about the nature of the relationship should be examined. Furthermore, U.S. leaders need to address the distrust and misconceptions of intentions that too often characterize the bilateral relationship.
   
• Young generation: Chinese scholars agreed that the current Chinese youth have never experienced war, which may cause them to undermine assumptions that go back to the Cold War, such as the tension over the status of Taiwan. In general, however, they argued that Chinese young people generally respect and admire the United States.

China and India

Li Li of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations asserted that, despite negative portrayals of the Sino-Indian relationship in the media of both countries, the bilateral relationship is not badly strained. Both nations share an emphasis on economic development and a similar outlook on issues ranging from climate change to energy policy. Unfortunately, these shared perspectives do not always translate into direct bilateral cooperation, Li said, despite frequent collaboration in international bodies such as the G20 or the World Trade Organization. 

Li described three issues that could potentially hamper the Sino-Indian rapprochement:

• Relations with other countries: India is apprehensive of the relatively close relationship between China and Pakistan, just as China is not enthusiastic about the increasing U.S. and Indian military cooperation.
   
• Interest overlap: Both countries share similar economic interests in Asia and, as their respective spheres of interest expand, some of these economic interests may clash.
   
• Nationalism: As both countries become even bigger economic powerhouses, their citizens will demand that their respective governments take a tougher position on questions of territory and sovereignty. This could potentially lead to a protracted deadlock on their existing border dispute.

China and Japan

Lin Xiaoguang of the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China identified historical memory as a key determinant in Sino-Japanese relations. Even though both countries have a long history of cultural and economic cooperation, the events of the last century—particularly during World War II—remain prevalent in the Chinese popular memory. According to Lin, the geographical proximity of both countries and their economic interdependence—combined with conflicting geopolitical goals in the region—create a difficult atmosphere for leaders in both countries to pursue a more positive bilateral relationship.

Participants

The Chinese scholars included: Shi Yinhong, the director of the Center for American Studies at the International Relations Academy of Renmin University; Major General Pan Zhenqiang, professor and former director of the Institute for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University; Li Li of the Institute of South and Southeast Asia Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations; and Lin Xiaoguang of the International Institute for Strategic Studies at the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.  Tsinghua University Associate Professor Chen Qi moderated.