When Will China Lead?
February 18th, 2010
With talk of China taking over the world with its horde of Treasury bills and its investments overseas in American companies and natural resource deposits, and its unconstructive spoiling tactics at the UN and the Copenhagen Climate Conference, China has shown an astonishing lack of world leadership. Expressions of displeasure are, well, rather archaic, harkening back to when the Emperors could declare, “Off with his head!” or “Call up the armies!” or “Death by a thousand slices!”.
As Peter Mandelson points out in a New York Times Op Ed piece, China needs to own up to all the international responsibilities encumbent on being an economic superpower. Mandelson is First Secretary of State for the British government. In many ways, China is perfectly situated to take on such a mantle, as its domestic issues mirror the world’s challenges so well: over-population, exhaustion of natural resources, how to get along with one’s very foreign neighbors, global climate change impact on its economy.
China instead would prefer to play the third-world card or the injury card of the violated handmaiden when called on to offer constructive frameworks to managing in the world at large. When it does figure out it should contribute something to global dialog, it more often than not “expresses its anger”.
As Mandelson so well states, “We may have to show some patience, and nerves for the occasional friction, but one way or another, we all need China to succeed and we all need China to start leading.”
One day, we can hope, Chinese leadership will understand: Proclamation is not Leadership.
Past posts:
Just Because You’re Paranoid …
Mirror Mirror: Seeing Beyond the Polls
