Drew Thompson

Opinion | Alaska summit: how China’s victim strategy will play out in its relations with the US

The narrative has served China well in gaining benefits from other countries, but appears increasingly untenable as Beijing seeks to be treated as an equal by the US

The Biden administration is not naive when it comes to China and is prepared to respond to its challenges with realism rather than idealism

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Foreign minister Wang Yi (left) and foreign policy chief Yang Jiechi speak to the media following the end of the meeting with the United States in Anchorage, Alaska, on March 19. Photo: Xinhua

Drew Thompson

Published: 3:30am, 26 Mar 2021Updated: 5:44am, 26 Mar 2021

China has long described itself as a victim of foreign aggression in what it terms the “century of humiliation”, which President Xi Jinping seeks to prevent from reoccurring by achieving the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation.

The narrative of victimhood has served China well in its diplomatic strategies to gain benefits from other countries, as well as Beijing’s justification for conditional acceptance and selective modification of the existing rules-based order.

The strategy is increasingly untenable, however, as Beijing seeks to be treated as an equal by the United States and first among equals in the Asia-Pacific. This paradox of seeking great power status while challenging previously agreed rules indicates that some in Beijing feel the victimhood approach is too effective to give up.

Embracing the existing order and joining it as an equal to the US means accepting reciprocity and giving up the normative exemptions and rules-based exceptions on which China has thrived.

Gaining respect and equal treatment by the US is untenable however, while China fosters a closed, state-led economy where only “national champions” flourish, pervasive censorship stifles speech, societal controls instil fear and a secrecy-obsessed military and Communist Party apparatus thwart trust.

Likewise, it is untenable – when confronting China results in a diplomatic put-down or economic coercion – for anyone calling on China to hold itself accountable or alter its behaviour to address points of friction.