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On May 3, the New York Times published an article that pointed out that, even before the spread of the coronavirus in the world, China was already showing a new approach, a fierce one – they insisted – to approach its diplomacy. In that article, the prestigious American newspaper said that this “aggressive” style was called “Warrior Wolf” in relation to two ultra-patriotic Chinese films where conflicts with groups led by the United States are precisely presented. Through this analogy, the NYT sought to explain a new form of communication for Chinese diplomats, who, encouraged by President Xi Jinping and the Communist Party, demonstrated their loyalty with challenging nationalist and even, often, threatening messages.
But for those who build that diplomacy, the definition of warrior wolf does not come close to reality. This morning the Center for International Studies of the Catholic University He held a discussion – led by its director Jorge Sahd – to address Chinese behavior in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. Its great expositor was the Chinese ambassador to Chile, Xu Bu, who in about 90 minutes referred to different topics on multilateralism and the conflict they are currently having with the United States due to the origin of the virus that has already killed thousands of people worldwide.
One of these points was precisely this new definition that has been given to Chinese diplomacy. “The nuclei of traditional Chinese culture is harmony, moderation and not doing to others what you don’t want them to do to you. Everyone has heard the concept of yin and yang, which means that you have to see all aspects of things and not go to the extreme. China’s culture is not expansive, the Chinese are not aggressive, and anyone who knows history knows that. “
What we have always sought, added Xu, is “to develop relations with other countries based on mutual respect and with peaceful coexistence. The foreign policy of independence, autonomy and peace, which we always advocate, has never changed. This sudden pandemic has allowed us to see the high level of narrowness among all the countries of the world at a level that we could not see before. (…) China is against intervention in other countries’ affairs, we are against the ideological struggles and the cold war mentality. But in the face of some anti-Chinese forces that wildly invent lies, we must rise to explain and clarify the truth to ensure a correct understanding. Calling truth-clarifying performances like warrior wolf diplomacy is inappropriate. In personeros like Mike Pompeo (US Secretary of State) who have demonized China at this level, Should we be silent? “
Two days after the NYT article, Xu published a column in The Third PM titled “Pompeo, the liar.” In it, the ambassador points out that “when the country faces a serious crisis, as Secretary of State, Pompeo should present scientific and rational reports to the President, helping him to make timely and accurate judgments, and to take rapid and energetic measures to confront and resolve the crisis. effectively. But sadly, Trump himself is a businessman who only cares about profits, and Pompeo has played the role as an accomplice that has taken away his consciousness ”.
Furthermore, he adds: “The fact that China has managed to control the epidemic is due to the tireless efforts made by the Chinese government and the enormous sacrifices made by the Chinese people. Since taking office, Pompeo has lied everywhere and is infamous in reputation. Now he has changed his vices and has lost his reason. American leaders should focus on taking effective measures to prevent and control the epidemic within their own territory, and not devote their energy to accusing China and deceiving the public. I am convinced that lying does not make the US on the contrary, it degenerates it ”.
The conversation with Xu through Zoom had more than 250 people pending, among them Senator José Miguel Insulza, Soledad Alvear, Deputy Issa Kort and the current Chilean Ambassador to Italy, Sergio Romero, among other experts in international politics.
There, in exactly one hour and 30 minutes, the diplomat was consulted by the accusations of the Donald Trump government that have ensured that China hides information and that this new coronavirus would have come from Wuhan laboratories.
Given this, Xu does not delay in arguing that the alleged criticisms of the outside world, as he pointed out in his column, are actually “unrealistic” accusations by some political representatives of the White House, but that they are “Lies invented by Donald Trump and Mike Pompeo to hide the flaws and mistakes of their policies. On December 27, 2019, the first cases were reported in a Wuhan hospital, only four days later investigators arrived to see what was happening on the ground. On January 3, it was communicated to the WHO and other countries. ” What happens, says the ambassador, is that in all this time Trump “has said that this is like a cold and that everything will be fine. The theory that the new coronavirus comes from laboratories are completely lies, as he has said the WHO which has clearly stated that the virus comes from nature and that is the consensus of the scientists. “Thus, he added that” more and more information that the coronavirus may come from the US “
But this disagreement is not something new in the recent relations of both countries. In March 2018, Trump announced that he would put tariffs of up to $ 50 billion on Chinese products arguing for intellectual property theft and unfair practices from China. This led them to face each other throughout the year in the World Trade Organization but finally the measure of the President of the United States was postponed. The following year, however, the conflict flared up again after Google announced that it would stop providing Android updates for Chinese March phones. Huawei.
Trump’s policies toward China within the United States have also generated a lot of controversy, says Xu. “For the American press, Trump is leading to a new cold war against China, which is going to lead the United States to disaster. The United States and China are two important countries, and any form of disharmony and cold war can damage the peace, stability and development of the world. What happens here is that President Trump works with the principle that the United States is first and that means that the United States does not want to see any country in the world that surpasses them in technological, economic and commercial power. But the development of the world has its own regulation, we cannot overcome the interests of oneself over the interests of other countries ”.
“What China and the United States must do is trade cooperation instead of trade wars, technology cooperation instead of technology wars, financial cooperation instead of financial wars. Because it is the technological or financial trade war, there is no part that is going to win, on the contrary, it will bring disaster in the whole world ”.
What will the post-pandemic world be like? That is something that everyone is reflecting on, “said the diplomat, who said that what many people say is that you should not go back to what you had before.
For Xu, what should happen is “look forward and not back”.
“I believe that the pandemic can produce two different political trends. First, that distrust and nationalism spread in the countries and, on the other hand, that they work together, that the countries unite and through visionary international cooperations jointly face the challenges at the global level to face the diseases and risks that it may bring climate change, “he says.
He claims to be more optimistic. This pandemic, he points out, has allowed us to see more clearly the close relationship that countries have. “We belong to the same global village and the correct option is to promote community building with a shared future for humanity.”
Check the entire interview on this link.
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