A parody doing the
rounds on Chinese social media sites distills the key messages of Donald
Trump’s inauguration speech into slogans that echo Mao, Deng Xiaoping and
current leader Xi Jinping. “Struggle to Realize the Great Rejuvenation of the
United States!” “Vigorously Carry Forward the Spirit of Patriotism!” “Overthrow
Bourgeois Authority, Establish a People’s Government!” The irony of a U.S.
president seeking to stir the public, and define America’s place in the world
with stridently nationalist and populist language-the staple of the Communist
Party’s propaganda machine-is not lost on China’s vast army of internet users.
Nor on Mr. Xi, who’s making the most of it. China’s authoritarian head of state
sees a historic opportunity to brand his nation as the standard-bearer of
globalization, and remake his own image as an enlightened internationalist, in
stark contrast to Mr. Trump. We’re in a topsy-turvy world. The leaders of the
U.S. and China, rhetorically at least, appear to have switched roles. At Davos
last week, Mr. Xi delivered a paean to free trade heavily embroidered with
phrases about inclusion more usually associated with American statesmen who
built the liberal global order after World War II and sustained it with their
magnanimous vision. “We will open our arms to the people of other countries,”
Mr. Xi intoned, no doubt with Mr. Trump’s anti-immigrant stance in mind.
“Pursuing protectionism,” he went on “is like locking oneself in a dark room.”
This was clearly a campaign style speech aimed at winning over an international
audience profoundly disturbed by the prospects of an inward-looking, “America
First” Trump presidency, and fearful Mr. Trump will try to secure a U.S.
manufacturing renaissance by erecting tariff barriers and unraveling global
supply chains. The Trump team is defiant; it seems not to fear this contest but
to relish it. Steve Bannon, the new White House chief strategist, told the
Washington Post that “I think it’d be good if people compare Xi’s speech at Davos
and President Trump’s speech in his inaugural.” In doing so, he said: “You’ll
see two different world views.” Not exactly. Mr. Xi is an unlikely apostle of
globalization. The “global connectivity” he lauded only goes so far at home,
where a towering internet firewall keeps out subversive Western doctrines.
Censors have just added a few more digital bricks to the barrier by announcing
a new crackdown on virtual private networks that help users get around the
restrictions, or in popular parlance “climb over the wall.” Meanwhile, the
“investment liberalization” Mr. Xi urged flies in the face of Chinese efforts
to quarantine swaths of its markets for technology to protect homegrown
corporate champions. Last year, Apple Inc. had to pull its iBooks Store and iTunes
Movies. Still, China is treating Mr. Trump as a heaven-sent opportunity. On
Monday, a Foreign Ministry official said China is prepared to take the helm of
the global economy “if it’s necessary.” A few hours later, Mr. Trump handed the
controls to China in Asia by formally pulling the U.S. out of the Trans-Pacific
Partnership, a giant free-trade deal. China will push even harder now on its
own trade arrangements. The move prompted fresh online satire. One post
cheekily suggested that Mr. Trump’s “true identity” was as a member of the
Chinese Communist Party. As the Trump administration purges the White House
website of references to climate changeand picks a global-warming skeptic to
head the Environmental Protection Agency-Beijing’s leaders are loudly proclaiming
fidelity to the Paris climate-change agreement. They came around, reluctantly
at first, to the need to get serious about curbing greenhouse-gas emissions
after prodding by the Obama administration. Underlying Beijing’s PR operation
is a simple message: China, unlike America, is a responsible global citizen.
The timing of China’s recent announcement to shut down its ivory trade-and save
the African elephant-was no coincidence. Air China said it is halting shipments
of shark’s fin. Environmentalist NGOs cheered.Expect more planetfriendly
pledges in the coming months, along with a variety of market-opening moves,
overseas-aid packages and international investments. Money spent now will go
further diplomatically. Already, China is becoming the locus of international
development funding through bodies like the Beijing-led Asian Infrastructure
Investment Bank. Others in the Trump camp are calling out China for hypocrisy.
In his Senate committee hearing, Wilbur Ross, the billionaire Commerce
Secretary nominee, called China the “most protectionist” country and grumbled
that Chinese officials, “talk much more about free trade than they actually
practice.” Yet this is an era of “posttruth politics”: Facts are malleable,
perception is everything. Mr. Trump spoke darkly of “American carnage” with
“rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones.” Mr. Xi took the opposite
tack. “History is created by the brave,” he said. “Let us boost confidence,
take actions and march arm-in-arm toward a bright future.” China sees an
America squandering its most precious global asset-soft power. The party
propagandists, so often the target of scorn on the Chinese internet, can hardly
believe their good fortune
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