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Meredith Chen

China’s top diplomat held his first phone conversation with the new US secretary of state on Friday, days after Donald Trump’s return to the White House brought more uncertainty to relations.
Since then, there has been much discussion about how to translate a four-character Chinese idiom used by Wang Yi when he was talking to Marco Rubio: hao zi wei zhi.
Interpretations of Wang’s message to Rubio – a China hawk who has been sanctioned twice by Beijing – have varied, from the foreign ministry calling it a warning to “act accordingly”, to a foreign media outlet translating it as “conduct yourself well”.
So what was Wang really saying?
How it got translated
After the call, China’s foreign ministry released a readout in English saying that Wang had cautioned Rubio to “act accordingly” and “play a constructive role for the future of the people of China and the United States, as well as for the peace and stability of the world”.
State news agency Xinhua interpreted it as Wang telling Rubio to “make the right decisions”.
Reuters translated the idiom as “conduct yourself well” while Bloomberg’s interpretation was “conduct yourself properly”.

What does it actually mean?
According to the Xinhua Dictionary of Idioms, the phrase hao zi wei zhi means to “handle things properly yourself and act accordingly” and is often used when giving advice to others.
That was also the verdict on Yuyuan Tantian, a social media account run by state broadcaster CCTV.
A video posted to the account on Saturday said the idiom was “often used to advise someone to properly manage their own affairs, or else they will have to bear the consequences”.
Another Yuyuan Tantian video ran through several translations for the idiom: a casual way to say “suit yourself” with a hint of negativity and criticism; a more serious reminder or caution to “behave yourself”; a way to say “take care of yourself” that conveys a sense of contempt; and it can also be used with a heavier tone to express rejection by saying “you care about yourself then”.

Diplomatic context
The idiom has been used before in diplomatic exchanges and has previously been translated into English – in different circumstances – as “make the right choice” or “be very prudent about what you say or do”, according to Yuyuan Tantian.
According to its video on the topic, the idiom is used to convey a message of caution to others. It said Wang’s use of the phrase highlighted the “subtlety of diplomatic language” and was an effort to present China as a great power issuing a “stern reminder” to another party.
It said the implication was that “if the US insists on an anti-China stance, it will have to deal with the consequences”, and Wang was issuing “a reminder to the US government about what to say and do over the next four years”.
Well-known political commentator Qiu Zhenhai, who has more than 2 million followers on social media network Weibo, also weighed in on the debate on Saturday, saying the phrase could imply that “[we can] temporarily put past issues aside and let’s aim to open a positive chapter for the future”.
“These are rather serious words, not something used between friends or in a cheerful atmosphere,” Qiu said in a video post. “It suggests that something unpleasant has happened but I do not want to escalate the conflict, and even extend some courtesy to you.”
Beijing has previously used the idiom in response to other countries’ engagement on issues it deems sensitive, such as the Taiwan Strait, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, the South China Sea and the East China Sea.


China critic
The Chinese government slapped sanctions on Rubio twice in 2020 over his criticism of Beijing’s treatment of Uygurs in Xinjiang and its actions in Hong Kong. Rubio was one of 11 US citizens hit with retaliatory sanctions after a similar move by Washington against officials in Hong Kong.
Since he became US secretary of state there has been speculation over how the sanctions against Rubio could affect diplomatic communication between the two nations, including whether he will be able to visit China and whether Beijing might lift the sanctions to improve relations.


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News

China

Diplomacy

There has been much discussion about how to interpret an idiom used by China’s foreign minister in talks with the US secretary of state


There has been much discussion about how to interpret an idiom used by China’s foreign minister in talks with the US secretary of state.
