NYT Op-Ed Contributor Expresses Desire for China to Be More Assertive in International Affairs

Yan Xuetong, an Op-Ed contributor to the New York Times, wrote on March 31^st he firmly aligns himself with Chinese analysts who believe, in contrast to the mainstream Chinese belief that China should keep a low profile in the international arena, that China needs to in fact become more aggressive and take on more international responsibility.

The philosophy Xuetong aligns himself with “draws inspiration from ancient Chinese philosophy, which regards both material capability and morality as necessary conditions for building strong and durable global leadership. For the sake of making itself a rising power that is welcomed by the rest of the world, China should act as a humane authority (wang in Chinese) and take on more international responsibilities to improve its strategic credibility.” Xuetong argues more and more thinkers like him are beginning to emerge in China, coinciding with recent changes in China’s international policy that demonstrate China’s efforts to assert itself as more of an international power.

Xuetong highlights China’s mobilization of rescue teams in Japan, endorsement of sanctions against the Qaddafi government (although China still abstained on the U.N. vote pertaining to taking military action against Libya), and sending military forces to Libya in order to evacuate Chinese citizens and 2,100 other foreigners as evidence that “China has learned how to improve its international image.”

I found this article interesting because it highlights what China is trying to do to assert a more positive and prominent role internationally rather than emphasizing China’s shortcomings in the international arena which something more commonly seen in major news sources.

One must also take into account, however, the source of this article. This different perspective on China’s developing international role could also be attributed to the author of this Op-Ed, Yan Xuetong, who is professor of political science and dean of the Institute of Modern International Relations at Tsinghua University in Beijing. It is possible that his profession as well as being a Chinese citizen living in China impacted how he framed this argument to focus on China’s attempts at improvement on the international platform instead of covering more of China’s persisting shortcomings in this arena as well.