For weeks, China banished nationalist sentiment in its escalating war of words with the Trump administration. Well, it tunes out its message and calls for a while, as President Trump increasingly makes a goal of Beijing in his bid for re-election in November.
One after another, top Chinese diplomats have called for ‘peaceful coexistence’ with the United States, dismissing their previous claims that Beijing’s authoritarian system is superior. Hawk scientists now emphasize prospects for muscle wasting, instead of urging China to challenge U.S. military power. Journalists at state-run news outlets limited their direct attacks on President Trump, under instructions to take a more conciliatory approach.
“There is a reflection that we should not in any way kidnap our foreign policy of nationality or hotheadedness,” Xu Qinduo, a commentator for China Radio International, a state-run broadcaster, said in an interview. “Tough rhetoric should not replace rational diplomacy.”
By reflecting on the rhetoric, the ruling Communist Party hopes to reduce the risk that excessive nationalism will damage Beijing’s global image if tensions between the superpowers lead unchecked. China’s ties with the United States are at a dangerous moment now that Mr Trump has made Beijing’s attraction a focal point of his election campaign, with his administration taking a series of actions against China in rapid succession.
Just in recent weeks, the Trump administration has closed the Chinese consulate in Houston; imposed sanctions on Communist Party officials; said it would cancel the visas of some students and tech company employees; and proposed restrictions on two popular Chinese social media networks. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has traveled abroad and urged countries to fight together to combat China ‘tyranny.
Unwilling to report being seen as weak, China has put in friendly response to most of the measures, closed a consulate in Chengdu and sanctioned U.S. politicians. But rejecting Mr Pompeo’s criticism, Foreign Minister Wang Yi also presented an olive tree, saying the government was ready to discuss all of Washington’s concerns “at every level, in every area and on every moment. “
Mr. Wang avoided the filthy outbursts that have come to characterize China’s “Wolf Warrior” diplomacy, named after an ultrapatriotic Chinese film franchise. Only three weeks earlier, Mr Wang had told his counterpart in Russia that the United States had “lost its sanity, morality and credibility.”
The call for dialogue has been repeated in recent days by several prominent officials, including Yang Jiechi, China’s top diplomat, and Cui Tiankai, the ambassador to the United States. On Wednesday, Le Yucheng, another senior Chinese diplomat, accused US politicians of lying to smear China. But he also said the two countries should work to prevent relations from “spiraling out of control” in the coming months.
“The change is that the United States continues to attack, and if China continues to oppose, and also stops communicating, while simply following irrationally, it will probably only make the relationship worse,” said Song Guoyou, an American research expert at Fudan Unversity. Shanghai, describes the shift in diplomatic strategy.
“China can indeed send this kind of signal intensively to the United States, and it says it hopes the US will work with it on issues calmly,” he said. Song.
The campaign for restraint also seems to be aimed, in part, at signaling the Democratic challenger of Mr. Trump, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., and others in the United States that China still sees a friendly path ahead. While Chinese officials believe Mr Biden is less volatile and cautious than Mr Trump, many also worry he will continue to push for tough action against China on human rights, technology and other issues, analysts said.
“There is still a possibility that tensions in the future could become even deeper and harder under a Democratic administration,” said Shi Yinhong, director of the Center for American Studies at Renmin University.
Despite the softer tone, China’s underlying view that the United States is a strategic and ideological rival bound to suppress its rise has not changed. China’s leader Xi Jinping continues to pursue a strong agenda, including a collapse of acquittal and activism in Hong Kong, even in the face of US sanctions. Mr. Xi’s government still routinely dismisses America as a bully and hypocrite.
But China’s aggressive movements have also fueled disputes with other countries, including India, Britain, Canada, Australia. Mr. Xi can now try to project a less confrontational image, as China finds itself increasingly isolated.
“Beijing’s rhetoric appears to be intended to exploit the global backwardness that has provoked its brutal diplomacy and harsh policies,” said Jessica Chen Weiss, an associate professor of government at Cornell University.
As Mr. Trump escalated his campaign against China, Beijing’s propaganda apparatus worked to quell anger at home by instructing state media to play unfavorable news and curb talk of war, according to interviews with Chinese journalists.
News of the closure of the US Consulate in Chengdu last month, a visa symbol of the erosion of ties between the two countries, was buried in a two-cent card at the bottom of page three of the People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s flagship .
Mr Trump’s signing last week of two executive orders aimed at curbing the use of Chinese social media apps in the United States did not make the evening news even one of the most watched television programs in China.
Hu Xijin, the editor-in-chief of Global Times, a fiercely nationalist non-partisan tabloid, said he was surprised by the speed with which ties with the United States had waned. In this climate, he said, his newspaper had a commitment “not to intensify this conflict,” and he sought to limit the publication of content that could arouse hatred for the American people.
“We emphasize that if the United States oppresses China, in general we would say that this is the job of the US government,” Mr Hu said in an interview. “In general, we would not have these hostile intentions attached to the entire United States like all Americans.”
However, at the end of last month, Mr Hu drew some criticism after he suggested on his social media page that China should rapidly expand its stock of nuclear warheads to restrict the United States. A leading nuclear weapons expert called such talks “hype” in an unusually blunt dismissal and said the aim was to encourage “dissatisfaction” with the party and the army.
The frustration of frustration with the United States among ordinary Chinese can be challenging. Chinese social media sites are tired of assertive comments with headlines such as “America will collapse this year” and “Does the United States really go to war with our country?”
The public generally has a hawkish eye on foreign policy, studies have shown, and have favored major military spending and a more assertive approach to defending China’s territorial claims. Beijing is still taking a firm stand on Taiwan, the self-governing island that China claims to be its territory, and on Thursday said it had military drills nearby.
In some cases, Chinese Internet users have attacked scientists and journalists who have adapted their rhetoric.
Jin Canrong, a professor of international studies at Renmin University, has previously argued that China should take a more assertive role in global affairs and challenge America’s influence. China has the potential to destroy U.S. military bases in Asia, he said.
More recently, Mr Jin has said that China should pursue a “chess war” with the United States instead of armed conflicts such as a Cold War. He was criticized on Chinese social media sites for his modern tone.
In an interview, Mr Jin defended his views, saying that the risk of a random confrontation was higher for the US election and that China would keep a low profile. “China will not fire the first shot,” he said. “We will not provoke.”
Even if China shifted tactics, its success could be limited. The Trump administration shows no signs of diminishing its efforts to eradicate decades of political, economic and social involvement with China. The State Department said Thursday that it designated the U.S. headquarters of the Confucius Institutes, a Chinese government education organization, as a diplomatic mission, a move that China denounced as “completely unacceptable.”
The Trump administration is also unlikely to consider calling for a cease-fire unless Chinese officials go beyond promises of reconciliation. Beijing may need to offer concrete proposals on issues such as military tensions in the South China Sea or the battle of Mr. Xi in Hong Kong.
“There is no way to maintain the avoidance of major conflict without concrete trade-offs,” said Mr. Shi, the American study expert at Renmin University.
Albee Zhang contributed research.
