BEIJING YEARNS TO CONVEY IMAGE OF STRONG CHINESE STATE / THE FINANCIAL TIMES

Beijing yearns to convey image of strong Chinese state

Lessons of history provide context for Belt and Road summit and May 4 centenary

Lucy Hornby in Beijing


China's president Xi Jinping speaks at a ceremony marking the centenary of the May Fourth Movement, held in Beijing's Great Hall of the People on Tuesday © AFP


Events in China often need to be viewed through the lens of history. But different lenses can refract in distinct ways and generate alternate views — a point made by two big set pieces taking place within days of each other in Beijing.

The Belt and Road forum last weekend evoked the diplomacy of the ancient Silk Road. Images on state television of foreign leaders arriving in the Chinese capital recalled the 1,500-year old frescoes of the Dunhuang grottos, which show kings and dukes making their stately passage to the Chinese imperial court.

In total 37 heads of state or prime ministers travelled to the forum, representing states both large (Russia, Italy) and small (Malta). Some stayed on for the next event: the International Horticultural Exhibition — and while the foreign media considered whether Belt and Road projects create debt traps for participating countries, Chinese state media featured foreign leaders admiring flowers.

Washington refused to send anyone to be a supporting player in Beijing’s show. But were other participants endorsing China’s global leadership, or just conducting smart economic outreach? In ancient times, too, Chinese historians recorded that delegations from smaller states arrived at court to pay homage and offer tribute, but the states themselves did not necessarily view it that way. They simply calculated that successful trading with a rich neighbour required some diplomatic politeness.

For Beijing, having today’s Belt and Road plans hailed by foreign powers was partially directed at a domestic audience. A strong state that is recognised and respected by its neighbours is the imperative of modern Chinese history.

An anniversary next weekend — the centenary of the May Fourth Movement of 1919 — is the Communist party’s chance to demonstrate that it has delivered on that mission.

The May Fourth Movement, too, can be viewed through radically different lenses. Virtually unknown in the west, the movement was a big deal for China. Student demonstrations that day started waves of activism promoting modernisation, westernisation, artistic freedom, feminism, nationalism, Communism and democracy — the “isms” and “isations” of China’s turbulent last century.

No students may demonstrate for their ideals in China today, but the legacy of the movement is alive and well in a different respect: its mandate for a strong state, which ties in with the pageantry and messaging at the Belt and Road forum.

The trigger on May 4 1919 was disillusionment. At the multilateral negotiations that ended the first world war, China expected to regain territory that Japan had won, because tens of thousands of Chinese had laboured for the British and French war effort. The Treaty of Versailles allowed Japan to keep the territory. Chinese students felt the west had broken its promise and were furious that their government was too weak to stand up for itself.

The movement casts a long shadow. The Chinese foreign ministry often comments that China “made an important contribution” to any global gathering. The substance of what it did seems less important than the fact that China was there, recognised and respected.

From Beijing’s point of view, as China has grown and claimed a more central seat in world affairs, the US has only grudgingly given ground. Many Chinese believe the US will never willingly give up its top spot in multilateral organisations, no matter how strong China gets. They have decided they need to build their own structures instead — and the result is the Belt and Road.

The image of the strong state ties the Belt and Road to the well-worn anniversary of student protests that would never be tolerated in China today.

China today is clearly no longer weak. But it still craves recognition and respect.