Xi takes lead to usher in country’s rise to prominence
BEIJING: In this summer’s Wolf
Chinese action star Wu Jing portrays a tough super-patriot who rescues both fellow countrymen and oppressed Africans with help from the People’s Liberation Army.
Audiences loved what became China’s biggest-grossing movie ever. Some reportedly sang the national anthem as the movie closed on an image of a Chinese passport and the words, “Please remember, at your back stands a strong motherland.”
This red-blooded nationalism has been channelled skilfully by President and ruling Communist Party leader Xi Jinping as he seeks to strengthen the party’s role in Chinese life and shepherd the country’s rise to prominence at a time when the United States and others in the West are seen to be in retreat.
Xi’s foreign policy could become even more assertive following this month’s congress of the ruling Communist Party, where delegates will agree to support his policies and endorse his second five-year term as party secretary general.
In an address on Wednesday to the congress’ opening session, Xi reiterated that China pursues an “independent foreign policy of peace” and maintains a defensive military posture. However, he also warned other countries not to underestimate China’s willingness to stand up for itself.
“No one should expect China to swallow anything that undermines its interests,” Xi told delegates at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People.
For years, after its emergence from hard-line Marxism in the late 1980s, China stuck to reformist leader Deng Xiaoping’s dictum to “keep a low profile and bide one’s time, while also getting things done”.
That began to change after the last decade’s global financial crisis, from which China emerged relatively unscathed, and the country’s foreign policy has since shifted into high gear under Xi.
The overall goal seems clear: Restore China to its traditional role as East Asia’s leading nation and a global economic and cultural force.
Xi said as much in his opening address when he outlined a vision of raising China’s international stature. By 2050, Xi said, China would be “a global leader in terms of composite national strength and international influence”. — AP