I lived in China for eight years and still have friends there, most of whom are upset at the backsliding on human rights and once widely expected and hoped for institutional reforms. XiJinping has actually written himself into the Chinese Constitution. Of course farsighted Western policy should aim to “work to usher in a Renaissance Period in China as best as possible for the sake of everyone.”
But how to do that? Western policy toward China has de facto rejected its old long-time “One China” agreements with the CCP. The West is approach8ng this question as it long approached Ukraine — but Taiwan is in a very different situation. The U.S. is gradually moving toward de facto recognition of Taiwan as an independent state, arming it with weapons, pressuring its high tech companies to stop selling to China and instead abide by U.S. sanctions (though China remains Taiwan’s largest trading partner), etc. These policies are infuriating to most of the Chinese national security apparatus and also strengthen Chinese nationalism and Xi’s grip on power.
This policy, pushed especially in Congress by warmongers and MAGA politicians seeking partisan domestic advantage against a supposedly “soft on China” Biden Administration (to counter Liberal charges that Trump is “pro-Putin”) will likely have devastating long-term effects.
It is one thing to highlight Taiwanese democracy and the advantages of such a system for the Mainland as well, it is another to imagine the U.S. can or should try to turn Taiwan into another Ukraine.
I don’t want to get into the issue of China’s overall economic advances and its real threats to a Western unipolar neo-liberal capitalist order. These threats exist, but the greater threat to our own democracy comes from increasing national disunion and the threat of civil war, which irresponsible rightwing populist forces have encouraged.
Despite our country’s many serious problems, our own “rule of law” and threatened but very real and very broad democratic rights do still appeal to tens of millions in China. They observe us and Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and Western Europe, and most envy our system and our personal freedoms. Of course they are still mostly more interested in improving their material lives. While the Chine natopion have experienced incredible improvements over the last two generations, most Chinese know full well that their average standard of living still fall far behind our own — even if their cities are safer.
China’s ruling Communist Party and its people certainly do not seek war with the U.S.A., and their leaders also do not seek to push their own rather unique hybrid system of government & economy on others.
