Xi Jinping goes on a tour of Northeastern China while the G20 is underway in New Delhi. Chinese delegation caused some disruption at the Summit. The UK arrests British parliamentary researcher accused of spying for China. Indian military is studying the scenarios of a Taiwan Contingency, according to Bloomberg. Chinascope brings you the views about the G20 from China as India wraps up its presidency for 2023.
China over the week
Chinese President Xi Jinping was seen in China’s Northeastern province of Heilongjiang while the G20 Summit was underway in New Delhi.
The current trip is Xi’s 10th inspection tour of Heilongjiang since the 18th Party Congress, which is part of his campaign to revive China’s relatively underdeveloped Northeastern regions economically.
But we can’t deny that Xi timed the tour to remain visible in public and signal to the domestic and global audience that he has other priorities than being at the G20. Xi made enough time to fly to BRICS just a few days prior to skipping the G20. This appearance has got to be politically motivated.
Experts in China have tried to avoid directly addressing Xi’s absence from the G20 Summit. Instead, Professor Jin Canrong, associate dean, School of International Studies, Renmin University, said, in a direct swipe at G20, that grouping was a ‘mess’ and Xi had no reason to attend the meeting in India.
Though Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s presence at G20 barely made a ripple in the news coverage of domestic news platforms, the joint statement coming from the summit did generate discussion. The Chinese state media outlet Shenzhen TV pointed out that Ukraine wasn’t happy with the joint statement as the paragraph on the Ukraine war didn’t directly mention Russia. The Ukrainian foreign ministry said that the G20 joint statement was “nothing to be proud of” and criticised the countries for letting Russia off the hook.
Beijing-based South Asia Study Group said the G20 joint declaration could be reached because of the compromise by the US over its position on the Russia-Ukraine war. Other commentators portrayed the joint declaration as a victory for Russia as it managed to escape the blame, which was far more pointed in the Bali declaration last year.
Besides the joint statement, some commentators welcomed the decision to include the African Union in the G20, saying that the move is good for ‘multi-polarity’.
Some social media users even took a dig at the Bharat Mandapam, the stadium India built for the G20 by saying it was only as good as the infrastructure at the county-level regions in China.
The Chinese officials caused some disruptive behaviour at the G20 Summit.
Chinese officials are said to have tried to challenge the US’ planned presidency of G20 in 2026, according to the Financial Times. The Chinese diplomats suggested deleting a reference to the potential US presidency in 2026 in this year’s joint declaration, according to sources who spoke to the Financial Times. One official even said Chinese arguments against the US were “not G20-related issues”, which surprised diplomats from other delegations.
Meanwhile, Li Qiang delivered a speech on behalf of Xi Jinping to the gathered leaders.
“We call on all countries to respect each other, seek common ground while reserving differences, live together in peace, and work jointly to meet global challenges and create a better future,” said Li Qiang in his remarks in New Delhi. Though the substance of Li’s remarks had to do with the global economy, he also promoted Xi’s three signature initiatives to meet ‘global challenges and create a better future’.
The controversy that started with India being referred to by its official name in Hindi, Bharat, on the G20 presidential dinner invitation received significant attention inside China.
The search phrase “Indian media is worried that Pakistan will be renamed India” was the 2nd trend on Baidu on Thursday. The same search query started a hashtag trend on the Chinese social media platform Weibo which was viewed over 120 million times.
China has also maintained a dual identity — one for the outside world and one for domestic consumption — which has helped the country’s long-term economic progress. But we can’t deny that cultural nationalism drives the Chinese Communist Party’s theoretical innovation to combine socialist ideas with Chinese cultural heritage.
As India’s economic rise picks up pace, the national debate about collective identity would be of significant interest in China as it reflects a new and emboldened neighbour arriving in the international arena.
As the US and Canadian leaders gathered in New Delhi, a destroyer and a frigate from the respective countries sailed through the Taiwan Strait on 9 September.
The last US ship transited through the Taiwan Strait in June.
“Troops in the theatre remain on a high alert at all times and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and security as well as regional peace and stability,” said PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg News has reported, citing two senior officials, that the Indian Army is studying the impact of a war in the Taiwan Strait and what could be India’s potential response. The study was announced after the US raised the issue of Taiwan Contingency in multiple forums, calling for India’s assistance by acting as a “logistics hub to provide repair and maintenance facilities for allied warships and aircraft”, according to an official.
A recent edition of Chinascope, had mentioned a similar scenario planning exercise regarding a Taiwan Contingency being carried out by the Ministry of External Affairs and other government departments.
Also Read: ‘Big plan, small mindset’. That’s how a top Chinese think-tank is seeing Modi’s G20
China in world news
The Times reported that the UK’s Security Service has arrested a parliamentary researcher on suspicion of spying for Beijing. It’s an unprecedented case as it would be the first time such a high level of access was gained by Beijing and caught by the UK’s Security Service.
The British researcher in his late twenties held a parliamentary pass and had worked with parliamentarians on international policy. The researcher interacted with security minister Tom Tugendhat and the chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Alicia Kearns.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak conveyed his concerns to Li Qiang in New Delhi about the “Chinese interference in the UK’s parliamentary democracy”, according to a statement by No 10.
The researcher used his access to counter growing hawkish views on China within the UK parliament by calling for a more nuanced debate on the UK’s China policy. The researcher had also spent time living and working in China, where he might have been recruited.
Another individual connected to the researcher was also arrested in Oxfordshire in connection to the case.
The arrest of these two individuals comes at a time when the UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly was criticised for his recent trip to Beijing.
Must read this week
Gain and Pain: The Problem of China’s Expanding Waistline – Sixth Tone
Xi Jinping Is Done With the Established World Order – Michael Schuman
Xi’s Policies Have Shortened the Fuse on China’s Economic Time Bomb – Zongyuan Zoe Liu
The author is a columnist and a freelance journalist. He was previously a China media journalist at the BBC World Service. He tweets @aadilbrar.Views are personal.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)