Why the West fears China

China Incorporated: The Politics of a World where China is Number One 

Author: Kerry Brown

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Pages: 208

Price: Rs 2,359

Kerry Brown, one of the most prolific writers on China, succinctly explains the West’s major problem with the rise of China and whether the challenges posed by this rise are political, economic or just personal.
 

The author argues that the West’s problem is not that China has succeeded but that it has done so without adhering to Western values: “The only rule one can make about Chinese global behaviour, now it has started to appear, is that it bases itself on doing everything opposite to the US.” Such actions by Beijing are perceived to be a direct challenge to the liberal world order whose flag bearer is Washington.
 

The author argues that to continue growing China also needs to be opportunistic; however, this fact is generally perceived to be political and not purely an economic path. “The assumption of most when they hear China saying that it is not politically motivated is that the opposite must be the case,” Mr Brown writes. China’s push for technological growth is also being perceived from the same prism.
 

The equivalent, however, can be arguedabout the West. Why did we believe that the West had all good intentions when it decided to welcome China into the international fold? Was it not pushed by the agenda that the country would become a liberal democracy while the West gains from the large untapped Chinese market? What seems to have happened is that China has adopted a path very different from the one accepted by the West. The West feels cheated because Beijing has proved that being a democracy is not a prerequisite to being a strong economic force.
 

The author asserts that the West tends to put the onus of the Chinese belief system on just the Communist ideology, and counters this by highlighting that “belief systems, faiths and values in contemporary China are multifaceted and multi-layered”. The problem, he argues, is not with the people being observed but the people engaging in observing.
 

The author concludes that the “issue is the West’s fear and sense of its own decline as it sees its period of dominance slip from its hand, and does everything to try to prevent this happening to whoever comes to compete with it”. The West has gained a lot from engaging and trading with Beijing. The author argues that even if China did hew closer to Western values it would not be acceptable as an equal partner. The West would be equally perturbed and unhappy about the changes as it is today. This is simply because the West is not comfortable giving up on its dominant position. At the same time, even a position of status quo is not acceptable to Beijing because it puts China in a secondary position.
 

The problem is that China believes in following its own policies and not getting engaged in others’ problems. However, if it is going to be an important global player it is expected to take a stand or take sides. “These days China’s desire to occupy a position of power but no responsibility, repeating its mantra of non-interference and respect for the sovereignty of others, is becoming less and less fit for purpose,” he writes.
 

In contradiction to this China wants to be admired and also desires status. This is becoming problematic given the Chinese feeling of “victimization and being unfairly treated has intensified as China has failed to receive the admiration and status it feels it deserves,” Mr Brown writes.  Xi Jinping would be the first leader who does not desire the same level of admiration especially from the West, he asserts.
 

The book is a vital read because it moves away from the current body of literature that posits China as the “bad boy” by negating the expectations of the West and has used the “good heart” of the United States and the EU to gain economic success. Mr Brown successfully argues that the West is not the good boy and China is not evil. They are in a symbiotic relationship because it benefits them. If the world was serious about pushing China towards the democratic path, the 1989 Tiananmen crisis offered one opportunity. “If there was a moment when the US and its allies could come good on their commitment to seeing full political change in China and ending the Communist Party’s monopoly, then this was it.” But the West only played lip service to the issue.
 

The question one is left with after reading this book is whether we are moving towards a world where China will be the norm setter, where countries can look at the Chinese success and believe that they do not have to follow liberal democratic ideals. “This will not be an easy world… but a possible world,” Mr Brown muses.
 

The book examines a range of issues such as Covid-19 pandemic, dual circulation, Xinjiang, Chinese cyber space and so on to point out that China does face several challenges, domestic and global. But it is aspiring for a stable world which is essential for its survival and growth. A “multilayer” world may be right at the corner, but it will have to be a world where the United States and China talk with each other and Beijing accepts that it needs to be more engaged in the international order.

The reviewer is assistant professor at OP Jindal Global University