Where China performs poorly

China was put in an awkward position by the UN vote on Libya, and shows no sign of knowing how to cope with the fall-out from subsequent events.

Its first aim was to get its 30,000 workers out of Libya. That done, it would have found it hard to veto the no-fly zone resolution. But it then lost control as France and Britain forged ahead with the air strikes, These provoked harsh words from Hu to Sarkozy at the G20 meeting in Nanjing. The fact that there is nothing Beijing can do must breed frustration in the Politburo. It is likely to increase the weakness of the Foreign Ministry which I understand is being blamed for ham-fistedness (though the real responsibility lies with the Leading Group on Foreign Policy chaired by Hu). Now there appears to be back-pedalling on the claim last year of complete sovereignty over the South China Sea. The language on this is being watered down.

Why? It can only be because Beijing belatedly realizes that it scored an own goal with other nations which have claims there. When Vietnam defies the PRC by welcoming a US aircraft carrier on a port visit, China has to think twice. There are even reports that the leadership in Burma is chafing under China’s overpowering presence. On a recent visit to Singapore and Indonesia I heard mutterings about the unwelcome re-creation of the tributary. Hu needs to tread more carefully, but one can only conclude that China’s foreign policy lags well behind its economic progress.

If the PRC was still cut off in Mao-era isolation, that might not be a cause for concern. But it has become a full partner in a globalized world in which it simply cannot expect other nations to ignore, for example, its current human rights crackdown. High Qing-era dismissal of the West is not on. With a weak Foreign Ministry, other power players at the top get involved, notably the PLA. Beijing’s knee-jerk reaction to foreign powers is either to tell them to get lost or to offer big contracts. Neither is a serious approach. Those who direct foreign policy on behalf of 1.3 billion people need to shape up.