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Page added on December 11, 2016
China’s civilizational diplomacy
China is quickly becoming a world power, capable of exercising considerable influence over other countries. And it is advancing to the center of the geopolitical stage just as – if not because – American and European leadership seems to be retreating into the wings.
China certainly has a receptive audience. One reason is that the “darker nations,” as the international-studies scholar Vijay Prashad calls global-South countries, feel greater kinship with China than with the United States and Europe. They identify with China’s history of anti-imperialist struggle, and even with Chinese people’s physical appearance. If you are an emerging superpower, there is a distinct advantage to having the majority of the world’s population hold such sentiments.
The way China plays its global role also differs notably from that of the West, because it emphasizes its similarities with the “rest,” to use the historian Niall Ferguson’s expression for the non-Western world. With this strategy, China has expanded its sphere of influence far beyond its immediate region.
Sub-Saharan Africa is often cited as an example of a region where China’s influence has superseded that of Europe’s former colonial powers. And, more recently, the Chinese government has stressed its long-standing interest in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and in Egypt in particular. Earlier this year, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Cairo as part of a regional tour to promote China’s “one belt, one road” initiative, a latter-day revival of the legendary Silk Road – the ancient network of trade routes connecting the Far East to the Mediterranean.
An important feature of China’s complex regional strategy is its attempt to address partners on a more equal footing. In the case of Egypt, it has done so by appealing to a shared history – a tactic that resonates in both countries. When the Chinese travel site Kooniao recently showcased the geochemist Sun Weidong’s assertion that Chinese civilization may have originated in ancient Egypt, Chinese readers responded with excitement; they were happy to be considered on par with Egypt. This episode suggests a revival of earlier discussions among Chinese officials in the post-World War II era, which also situated the origins of Chinese civilization in the West.
It is tempting to ask if China implicitly uses civilizational theories to endear itself to particular regions at particular times. What we do know is that China has had an interest in the Arab world at least since the start of the postcolonial era, when new countries were established across the MENA region. That interest was embodied in the relationship between the first premier of the People’s Republic of China, Zhou Enlai, and Egypt’s independence hero and second president, Gamal Abdel Nasser.
Zhou and Nasser were both key leaders in the global South’s struggle for independence and ideological autonomy. But the Cold War, the Sino-Soviet split, and Western international institutions’ development programs soon disrupted cooperation among global-South countries, and ties between China and Egypt weakened. That changed this year with the highly publicized meeting between Xi and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in January.
In 2012, former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi – who had won Egypt’s first presidential election after former President Hosni Mubarak’s regime was toppled in 2011 – laid the groundwork. China was Morsi’s first official destination outside the region.
When Egypt’s military removed Morsi and el-Sisi became president, he continued to move his country closer to China. Xi returned the favor, and used his trip to Cairo to commemorate 60 years of bilateral diplomatic relations. Xi had visited Egypt 16 years earlier, and on his second official trip he praised Egyptian civilization: “If you drink from the Nile, you will return.”
Egypt and China have agreed to a number of massive bilateral deals. One that stands out is a $45 billion Chinese-funded project to build a new Egyptian capital in the desert outside of Cairo. The project’s symbolic importance is obvious: China wants to cement its role as the region’s biggest ally, in place of the US.
Indeed, the renewed Sino-Egyptian relationship is a cornerstone of China’s effort to attract new allies in regions once dominated by US and European interests. And it is here where China’s reliance on a civilizational discourse of mutual respect and shared history stands in stark contrast to the West’s colonial, post-colonial, and neocolonial discourse, which tends to frame local cultures as backwards or inferior.
By lavishing praise on Egypt’s local culture, and by alluding to shared origins, China is strengthening its diplomatic relations and chances for future economic cooperation. In exchange, Egypt – a gateway to the Arab world – will become a crucial strategic ally for China. By deepening its relationship with Egypt, China stands to increase its influence in other MENA countries, too.
22 Comments on "China’s civilizational diplomacy"
onlooker on Sun, 11th Dec 2016 4:19 pm
It is tempting to see this as a bright point in recent Geopolitical history. That is if it was about aligning against the Capitalistic juggernaut represented by the West into a downsized saner world. However, instead China is just following in the footsteps of the US. Utilizing deceit. The US. did it by appealing to the ideals of Democracy and freedom which that country was founded on. Meantime is trying to appeal in a somewhat different way. Yet behind it in both cases is the pursuit of wealth and Empire building. At this stage one wonders what planet the Chinese leadership thinks it’s living in. Acting like the US will just hasten the end for the Chinese and everyone else on this planet
onlooker on Sun, 11th Dec 2016 4:20 pm
Meantime China
Davy on Sun, 11th Dec 2016 4:52 pm
China and the US are on a collision course.
“Trump Reignites China Diplomatic Spat, Says Not Bound By “One China” Policy”
http://tinyurl.com/z3fseru
JuanP on Sun, 11th Dec 2016 5:49 pm
“Egypt and China have agreed to a number of massive bilateral deals. One that stands out is a $45 billion Chinese-funded project to build a new Egyptian capital in the desert outside of Cairo.”. What an incredibly stupid and ignorant idea. Burning the frigging money would be more useful! Humans are universally unbelievably stupid and ignorant!
makati1 on Sun, 11th Dec 2016 6:32 pm
Onlooker, China is not using “deceit” to do anything. That is the method of the U$. The U$ uses guns and death to make “allies”. China uses money. (American interest payments and trade balance billion$) China can, and does, spend hundreds of billions of U$ dollars every year and does not have to take one cent out of their sovereign wealth funds for “investments” in other countries. Nor does it worry about being paid back. The diplomatic relationship is more important. The U$ dollars are about worthless anyway.
Building a new city is much better than killing millions of Egyptians and then “rebuilding” the trashed country isn’t it? Think the U$ in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Etc. The Chinese skip the death and destruction (Profit center for the MIC) part of the negotiations and move right to the profitable one. Much faster and they do not alienate the population and make new enemies. They are constructing something useful while cementing new ties all over the world. Win-Win situation for the Chinese and the Egyptians.
Hubert on Sun, 11th Dec 2016 11:55 pm
China will run out of water in 15 years; so much for China’s Rise. They’ll be little more than a basket-case.
Midnight Oil on Mon, 12th Dec 2016 12:13 am
For whatever it’s worth, I read an article concerning China’s long term strategy some 15 years ago and it stated by 2050 the United States would no longer be a Super Power.
Looks as if things are going as planned.
makati1 on Mon, 12th Dec 2016 12:45 am
Hubert, the U$ has even less time. Much less. But your blindness is typical of Americans.
Russia has a lot of water they can pipe to China. It will be worth more than oil or natural gas by then. That is, IF any of us humans are still around to worry about it. If the U$ keeps hitting the Russia Bear with sticks, we may not be. A nuclear minute could be our “Chicxulub”.
Cloggie on Mon, 12th Dec 2016 3:21 am
Napoleon Bonaparte: China is a sleeping giant. Let her sleep, for when she wakes she will move the world.
Well folks, the sleeping giant has just awakened. 1350 million people, IQ100, strong work ethic, functioning capitalist system.
Timber!
They already took over Pakistan from the US, they are now taking over Djibouti and build a submarine base, handsomely controlling the entrance to the Red Sea and Suez Canal.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/1652050/djibouti-china-builds-first-overseas-military-base-in-dijbouti-for-ships-helicopters-and-special-forces-in-bid-to-become-naval-superpower/
And now they seem to quietly take over Egypt and other African countries.
Anybody who worries about Russia or the US empire should get his head checked. China is the real deal, that is going to eclipse every one of [US, EU, Russia].
Putin knows.
Trump knows.
There is only one rational geopolitical response to that development…
https://s17.postimg.org/6wwnomfpb/worldmap.jpg
… and bury the sinister globalist left once and for all:
http://i033.radikal.ru/1109/de/d69474496981.jpg
Putin is ready, Trump seems to be ready.
Leon Trotsky out, Samuel Huntington in.
Dredd on Mon, 12th Dec 2016 4:29 am
Yep, this has been a long time coming, and will be a long time going (Economic War Of The Pacific – 6).
Davy on Mon, 12th Dec 2016 5:18 am
China is a huge country just like the US so anyone making a simple statement says little against this reality. China, the US and Europe will dissolve into smaller parts by the destructive forces of change. China has regions with no future for multiple reasons. China will see a variety of changes both growth and decay in line with a decay of globalism. The US will be in the same process with its own process. No nation is going to be great and all nations will suffer and in relation to each other. As things fall apart some regions will gain comparative advantage but not much. China and Asia will have the most pain because they have the most people but all regions will have suffering. There is nowhere to hide and no nation will capitalize on these dangers ahead.
eugene on Mon, 12th Dec 2016 7:19 am
Maybe it’s because they show up with a contract instead of demands, guns and bombs. Negotiation instead of killing. But killing is all America has ever understood.
Davy on Mon, 12th Dec 2016 7:27 am
Ha Ha, tell that to Tibet and tell that to the countries around the South China Sea. China will go down the same path as the US but with a Chinese flavor. They will get into your country by offering business opportunities and next the soldiers will come.
Cloggie on Mon, 12th Dec 2016 7:38 am
Ha Ha, tell that to Tibet and tell that to the countries around the South China Sea. China will go down the same path as the US but with a Chinese flavor. They will get into your country by offering business opportunities and next the soldiers will come.
– When Rome felt strong it colonized most of the Mediterranean basin
– When Europe felt strong it colonized most of the world.
– When America felt strong it colonized the most valuable part of Europe and Japan (for starters).
– When China feels strong… etc., etc.
No need to moralize, history is the complete amoral Darwinian tale of rising and declining empires. Throw your inner John-Boy Walton in the well and begin to prepare for the world after Pax Americana:
– have a good look in the mirror and identify who you are
– identify on the map where the people live who look and feel somewhat like you
– team up with these folks
https://s17.postimg.org/6wwnomfpb/worldmap.jpg
#Geopolitics101
#ThisIsNotRocketScience
penury on Mon, 12th Dec 2016 10:19 am
It is always gun to speculate, prognosticate, and ruminate upon happening far into the future when our musings will be as dust in the wind. However, realistically not one of us has the knowledge or ability to forecast what will be happening in two months. But I enjoy the discussions and the disagreements, Heck I did not know anything when I started with this site and I have collected a lot of information just being here. (some of it is even true)
joe on Mon, 12th Dec 2016 11:04 am
Forgive me, but
China has killed far more people than anyone should care to think. Their imperialist past is written in blood over all of Asia! Trumps challange to China is that the left totally failed to stop a communist dictatorship from succeeding and now is so powerful that anti-democratic power is about to destroy the free world. The EU is anti-democratic China is, Turkey is turning into a facist dictatorship right now, Egypt fell, Saudi an absolute monarchy, North Korea meh, Iran and religio-facist state, Russia a plutocratic autocracy, France a failing state, Brexit……
Its blowing up, the whole world is blowing up, even the US is divided between those who hate Trump and back CIA public denouncments of electoral legitimacy, if anyone takes a pop at Trump, theyll call him a PATRIOT. Its sick!
GregT on Mon, 12th Dec 2016 11:21 am
A democracy can only ever work with a well informed public joe. Democracy is dead, and it wasn’t the Chinese who killed it. Not that it ever had a hope in hell of succeeding anyways. Greed will always gain control of any political ideology. It’s just basic human nature.
Cloggie on Mon, 12th Dec 2016 11:33 am
A democracy can only ever work with a well informed public joe.
That, and at least as important, with a homogeneous population, like European countries before the multicult disaster of 1980. Or still homogeneous Japan.
In countries with mixed populations, democracy will regress towards ethno-politics. From now on, since Trump, the Republic party has become the White Party, that eventually will carry the Euro’s into a new republic (white ethno-state).
#DemographyIsDestiny
Democracy is dead, and it wasn’t the Chinese who killed it.
So who killed it?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_and_Nationality_Act_of_1965
GregT on Mon, 12th Dec 2016 11:52 am
“In countries with mixed populations, democracy will regress towards ethno-politics.”
In countries without mixed populations, democracy will regress as a result of social status. Those at the top will do everything in their power, to make sure that the public is not well informed.
GregT on Mon, 12th Dec 2016 12:02 pm
“The people can not be all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions it is a lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. We have had 13. states independant 11. years. There has been one rebellion. That comes to one rebellion in a century and a half for each state. What country ever existed a century and a half without a rebellion? And what country can preserve it’s liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is it’s natural manure.”
Thomas J.
Cloggie on Mon, 12th Dec 2016 12:11 pm
Those at the top will do everything in their power, to make sure that the public is not well informed.
With the internet around there is no excuse for the public not to be informed. No politician can stop the public to be informed via the internet.
If in 2016 the public is not informed, that’s because most are not that keen to be informed.
What country ever existed a century and a half without a rebellion?
Hardly any one. Here you can browse through 2000 years of European history:
http://www.euratlas.net/history/europe/
Little remains the same through the centuries, although the Roman empire was rather stable for four centuries.
Don’t think America will remain in its present borders during this century.
GregT on Mon, 12th Dec 2016 12:31 pm
“With the internet around there is no excuse for the public not to be informed. No politician can stop the public to be informed via the internet.”
There is so much disinformation on the internet, it is difficult to sift through. Those who actually have enough time on their hands to do so. The majority are much too busy trying to pay off their debt to the TBTF ‘organizations’. AKA: those at the top.
“Don’t think America will remain in its present borders during this century.”
Don’t think that the humans are likely to survive on the planet within this century. Not that you or I will be here anyways.