Addressing the China challenge

Blinkers Off: How Will the World Counter China?

Author: Gaurie Dwivedi

Publisher: Pentagon Press

Pages:  277

Price: Rs 795

Over the past few decades, as China rose to become the world’s second-largest economy, Beijing quietly strengthened its position in the international system based on its economic heft. The often-quoted dictum by Deng Xiaoping “hide your strength and bide your time” is one of the most appropriate descriptions of China’s journey so far. Now that Beijing is done “biding its time” and aspires to be the next superpower, concerns over its authoritarian tendencies are dominating the global discourse. After the Covid-19 pandemic ravaged the world, Beijing’s aggressive tactics to exploit vulnerabilities in the current international system were exposed. Scholars, researchers, and leaders across the world are exploring ways to deal with China. 

Gaurie Dwivedi’s book attempts to sketch out options to address the China challenge. The book has four sections, each of which begins by drawing parallels between Beijing’s moves and Sun Tzu’s wisdom from The Art of War.

The first section equates China’s strategy with one of Sun’s “36 Stratagems” —“Fool the sky to cross the sea.” It tells the story of China’s rise from a poor country to becoming the world’s second-largest economy. The author argues the economic success was a part of China’s grand strategy to further its imperial designs while maintaining the façade of a globalised, responsible nation.

The second section explains China’s “alliance” building in Asia and Russia. 

Ms Dwivedi argues that these alliances are meant to subvert the present international system and help undercut China’s principal rivals. The chapter on China’s growing footprint in West Asia, as indicated by an increased economic partnership with Israel and China’s support for Iran, aptly explains the key drivers of China’s motivations in the region. Ms Dwivedi has suggested six key focus areas to ensure “the world map is not redrawn by Xi Jinping.” She advises beating the enemy in all domains where its strength lies. Hence, her suggestions are to reboot alliances, fix global governance, prepare for information warfare (IW), economic warfare (EW), a bold strategy for Taiwan, and redefine military alliances.

She is on point in her assessment that China is a challenge and states need to think about new areas of warfare such as IW and EW. She says that “the future of present order will be determined by whether China is defeated in its attempts to weaponize information.” Put simply, IW refers to the manipulation of information in a way that harms adversaries and benefits one’s objectives. This means the scope of IW is much more than traditional military operations and can also include civilian targets. IW includes different approaches, with some scholars emphasising disinformation and cyber operations while others, like American scholar Martin Libicki, include psychological warfare, cyber warfare, and electronic warfare as IW. Ms Dwivedi has highlighted the cyber warfare aspect of IW in this book.

The author has argued that India, America, and Japan are China’s key rivals. For example, she says, “the alliances served two key objectives: to subvert the present system and undercut China’s principal rivals, which are America, India, and Japan.” She explains India’s position as a rival because of its “potential to be a balancing force against China in Asia” but more rigour could have been made in explaining why the author has categorised America, India, and Japan as key rivals.

China catego­rises countries into major countries and regional players. For example, State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi’s speech “China's Diplomacy in 2021” features the US, Russia, and European Union (EU) as major international countries. In the same speech, India and Japan feature as regional countries. The centrality of the US in China’s strategic discourse is evident in speeches and writings of Chinese leaders and scholars. Beijing’s priority is to overtake the US as the sole superpower.

Additionally, some international relations terms in the book are used in a journalistic sense. For example, the term “alliance” used at the start of the second segment refers to China’s relations with Iran, Russia, and Pakistan. While China’s relations with some of these countries are better, they cannot be termed “alliances” from an international relations perspective where “alliance” refer to a formal agreement between two or more states ensuring mutual support in case of war.

Blinkers Off is a perfect read for those who wish to understand China’s actions in the past few years and the importance of 2020 in unmasking them. Fluid language with smooth chapter transitions reflect Ms Dwivedi’s journalistic background. It makes this book a delightful read for academic and non-academic readers alike. Readers who are curious about India’s role in countering China would also find the book particularly useful.

The reviewer is a Research Analyst (China Studies) at The Takshashila Institution. @pardhimegha21