China suffering national identity crisis

The following is the fourth in a series of articles examining Seoul-Beijing ties following the tumultuous relationship between the two countries last year. ― ED.

By Sunny Lee

BEIJING _ China is going through national identity crisis, not sure about its newly found global role and therefore hesitant to take up more global responsibility, according to Zheng Yongnian, director of the National University of Singapore's East Asian Institute.

This, Zheng said, sheds light on why China also failed to act responsibly during last year’s two crises on the Korean Peninsula.

In the aftermath of the Cheonan incident, China simply called for “calm” on both Koreas, while the international community criticized Pyongyang as the culprit. China repeated its stance during North Korea’s shelling on South Korea’s Yeonpyeong Island as well. A total of 50 South Koreans lost their lives, either by a torpedo attack or by artillery shelling from North Korea.

China became the subject for South Korea’s national ire for the manner it handled the affairs. By choosing to be “neutral” and reluctant to go beyond counseling restraint to all parties, China in fact shielded North Korea from international criticism. As a veto-wielding Security Council member, China also blocked Seoul’s effort to mete out a U.N. condemnation on North Korea.

But what has escaped the notice of South Korea in its analysis on “why China took side with North Korea” during last year’s two fatal incidents was China’s internal factor. Sure, China is North Korea’s Cold War ally. China also sees North Korea as a useful “buffer zone” that keeps the U.S. forces at bay in East Asia. China is also very much concerned about North Korean refugees, who will cross the border en masse, destabilizing China’s northeastern region in case North Korea collapses.

Yet, Zheng also points out that China’s hesitance to play a responsible superpower has an internal factor as well. Namely, it is going through a national identity crisis. The Middle Kingdom is unsure about how it should act as a new global power.

“We say China is a rising superpower. It’s the number two economy in the world. We expect China should take more international responsibility on, including, of course, the Korean Peninsula. But we learned that China is still very cautious,” said Zheng.

“China is still reluctant to take up more responsibility. It’s because China still has a difficulty in re-positioning itself in the international stage,” said Zheng.

The Chinese leadership has been aware of this problem and has been engaged in a debate. Unfortunately, it has yet to be settled. “They are having a long-lasting debate about what kind of international responsibilities China should take; how to perform these responsibilities,” said Zheng.

While the Chinese are sticking to their old course of action on North Korea, it is continuing to become the subject for international criticism. The latest report by the International Crisis Group, an influential dispute resolution advisory group, warned the danger of China isolating its neighbors.

“Because (China) is seen as having failed to take greater responsibility to safeguard stability, China has also damaged its relationships in the region and in the West,” the report said.

Upset by China’s behavior, Seoul, Washington and Tokyo rejected China’s call for the immediate resumption of the six-party talks. The foreign ministers of the three countries also met in Washington, without inviting China, in a clear expression of disapproval of China’s not taking more responsibility to contain North Korea’s belligerence.

Zheng doesn’t believe isolating China is the right approach. “Hard approach will not change China’s behavior,” urging the international community to more vigorously engage China, rather than isolate it.

“If the United States, South Korea and Japan go their own way, it will actually make the situation worse because that will alienate China further. That will form a new Cold War bloc,” said Zheng.

“As far as I understand, China is trying to do more but China is still figuring out how to do it. It takes time.”

But while China is figuring out its new identity, the world is left confused. For the last 30 years of reform, China has been very successful in its spectacular economic growth, by combining Communism with capitalism. The unlikely marriage of the two was a demonstration of Chinese pragmatism as Deng Xiaoping said: “It’s doesn’t matter whether its’ a white cat or a black cat. Any cat that catches the mouse is the good cat.”

But the pragmatism, lacking solid moral philosophy and national self-identification, is losing the steam now. China’s “growth pain” is even seen in its unusual experiment with the dead Confucianism, which Mao Zedong decimated during the Cultural Revolution.

China is in search of a new national identity and the process will pose challenges for both China and the rest of the world, including its immediate neighbor, Korea. And while China feels unsure about itself, the world will be left feeling unsure about China too.

Meanwhile, the question on China will remain the same. “Is China socialism? Or, is it capitalism?” asked Zheng. “No one knows what China is about today.”