For the first time, I can see the possible emergence of a global backlash against China’s Xi Jinping and his increasingly authoritarian and aggressive moves. There are signs of deep concern in Europe, India and Australia, not to mention in the United States, that China is determined to impose its control over other peoples, the same way it is its own. Europeans are shocked by reports that the Chinese government is forcing birth control on its minority Uighur population to swamp them with more numerous Han Chinese. The world appears to be reacting to China’s de facto crushing of Hong Kong’s freedoms, including press freedom.
Elsewhere, prominent think tanks are calling for a “trans-Atlantic” response to China’s moves. This makes a great deal of sense. In fact, what we need is a global alliance to share information about Chinese practices and ways of curbing them.
In India, the government recently fought a military engagement against Chinese troops along their common border high in the mountains and today the Indian government has banned Tik Tok and other Chinese software and communication applications. The Indian government has recognized that the Chinese are seeking to subvert India from within and to take data outside of Indian terriitory.
In Australia, authorities are investigating whether Chinese interests have violated Australian law by bribing a member of Parliament. Australia has been a key test case of Chinese behavior internationally. Chinese interference in Australian politics has been far more brazen than anything we have seen in other democracies.
The elements of China’s global strategy are clear, as I outlined them in The New Art of War, seen here. Technology is a major key. If Huawei can sell its telecommunications services to a country’s national government, it may then help that government control its opposition through the use of voice recognition and facial recognition technologies. The Chinese also use espionage and hacking on a massive scale.
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is increasingly seen as a way for China to project power and seize assets from governments too naive to understand the true nature of how China is projecting power.
There are dozens of other tools including the United Front organization and the increasing soft power of Chinese-owned media platforms such as CGTN.
China appears to be taking advantage of the global pre-occupation with Covid-19 to assert its interests more forcefully while no one will notice or be able to respond.
In short, the Chinese are trying to create a world order that benefits its economic and security interests. It is not interested in being a “responsible stakeholder” in the world order the United States and its allies created after World War II. The sooner we all wake up to this and start to cooperate, the better the world will be. If this global backlash could mature, it might even be sufficient to embarrass Xi Jinping. He could be seen internally within the Chinese leadership of having reached too far, too fast, ultimately making China a pariah state. That’s what the world is waking up to.
