China & Political Change

Regularly in these last few weeks, political thinkers have risked curious and typically hopeful glances toward China for signs that the political change demanded in the Middle East might spread to the Chinese regime as well.  A number of comparative analyses have contrasted the Chinese government with any number of the Middle Eastern states currently locked in turmoil or transitioning to new regimes.  Though I’m of the mind that said analyses are somewhat far-fetched, I do think the activities of the Chinese government in recent weeks deserve a great deal of attention.  At present China’s ties and investments into the politics of the Middle East are extensive, and the activities of the Chinese government through crises like that in Libya offer potential insight into policy in the years ahead.

Readers may note I’m hardly the first to expect changes to the status quo, but particularly in China it seems an absurd conclusion to leap to at the moment.  Beyond the differences between China and the States of the Middle East, or the continued economic, social, strategic and political developments of the state, it’s hard to imagine how the rest of the world might react if demands for political change suddenly delegitimized China’s government.  Further the constant risk of these uprisings being labeled Western meddling, rather than a movement among the people of the region, might suggest this is a good time to work with China on issues of foreign affairs, instead of labeling this one more US vs. China battleground.

Counter to what some might think, the people of China have not been kept ignorant of events in the Middle East; however the information made available to them has been limited and manipulated in all the ways typical of the nation’s government.   Essentially the government’s approach has been to control access to, and sanitize presentation of, information which might be inflammatory or in some way negatively affect stability in the nation.  Here, if nowhere else, China does its people a great disservice.

Though quite effective in governing a nation through swift and effective transition toward convergence with the wealthiest nations of the world, the state has painted a picture of itself which seems at times even more heavy-handed than might be necessary.  Certainly the Chinese government is authoritarian in nature, yet often it seems intent on displaying its power and influence over its citizenry purely for the sake of reminding the populace of its dominance.