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In the midst of public debates on various
issues during the recently concluded “Two Sessions” — the first session
of the 12th National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s
Consultative Conference (CPPCC) session — the first ever female spokesperson
of this politically charged and internationally observed event, Madame
Fuying, instantly turned “red” (local slang for “popular”) and topped the
list of the most inspirational figures of the Two Sessions on China’s
social media outlets.
Many were utterly smitten by her elegant heart-warming style during press
conferences.
Most notably was her amiable but firm response to a Japanese reporter,
who asked whether China would become more aggressive in the future. She
cheerfully replied that the Chinese people actually thought the
government was not tough enough in responding to the Diaoyu Island issue.
She added that Japan broke the consensus first, therefore, it was
inevitable that China should respond. She mentioned, interestingly, the
term lai’er buwang feili ye, usually translated as it is impolite not to
reciprocate a friend’s gesture.
Many netizens concur that China’s diplomacy should be more “Fuying style”
(adopting Psy’s popular song “Gangnam Style”) combining elegance and
friendliness with confidence and firmness.
Over the three decades of her career, Madame Fuying has been a formidable
glass-ceiling breaker for women’s empowerment in China. Formerly a
minister councilor in Jakarta in 1997, she was transferred to Manila and
became China’s youngest and first ethnic-minority female ambassador in
1998.
In 2003, she became the first female ambassador to a major country when
she was assigned to Australia. Since 2010 she has been vice minister.
To many Chinese, Fuying style, which was summarized by an online public
opinion poll as “showing strength while being elegant” is indeed the
fresh nuance for Chinese diplomacy they have been craving.
Her amiable presence has soothed domestic audiences’ anxiety at having
their country painted by the outside world as a crude threat. At the same
time, her firm gestures have satisfied their longing to see a more
confident China at the center of the international stage.
Now that the fifth generation leadership transition has officially been
completed with the appointment of Xi Jinping as president, the showing of
strength while maintaining elegance is indeed a style that Chinese people
can appreciate.
In their eyes, the immediate challenge for China’s diplomacy is how to
eloquently articulate the
direction of contemporary foreign policy under new leadership at a time
when the global order is transforming.
The US pivot to Asia is blatantly directed against a rising China, and
escalating tensions with her neighbors are once again propelling the idea
of the “Chinese threat”.
Of all the domestic discourses on foreign policy that has arisen since
the earlier 18th party congress until the conclusion of the Two Sessions,
the key message sent by the Chinese government to both domestic and
international audiences was that China would continue on the path of
peaceful development, but not at the expense of her fundamental
interests.
The latter part of this message has intrigued many outside observers and
some even label it as the herald of a potentially more aggressive China
in world and regional affairs, particularly with the overblown tension in
the region over maritime border issues.
I do not believe that we should be so quick to judge China’s
assertiveness as aggressiveness. An assertive China does not mean that
China wants to be a bully. We have learned from our own experience
throughout history how misunderstanding, lack of knowledge and limited
consultation or dialogue has brought ramifications that have bogged down
our strategic engagement with China.
Despite some differences in characteristics between Indonesia and China
as nations, as an aspiring middle power ourselves, perhaps it is easier
for us to empathize with China’s growing desire to be more assertive, as
we are also trying (and expected by some) to assert a greater leadership
role in our own backyard (namely ASEAN), and attempting to express our
desire to be an independent power that refuses to be sucked into major
power rivalries.
This could be detected from the Two Sessions’ press conference, when the
hot issues raised by Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi highlighted the growing
tension with major powers, namely the US and Japan.
The announcement that Russia and Africa would be the destinations of
President Xi’s first official visits abroad also signaled China’s foreign
policy priorities, which are seen as logical consequence of the US’ Asia
pivot.
China’s geostrategic rebalancing effort toward Africa as has been debated
for quite some time. Among the initial proponents was Wang Jisi, dean of
Peking University’s school of international studies, a prominent
strategic thinker and adviser to decision makers.
The logic is as follows: Africa is rich in resources but marred by
conflict. China’s economic interest is tied to these resources and
therefore must take constructive efforts to help reduce the conflict in
the area.
Furthermore no US-led military alliance exists there. Negotiations
and competition between major powers are ongoing and there is room for
constructive cooperation with major powers.
The situation is different in the East where US-led military alliances
and partnerships exist. The room for constructive engagement between
major powers is limited and regional conflicts are prone to become
major-power rivalries.
It is therefore crucial for Indonesia, as one of the regional powers, to
dig our heels in and counter any efforts to drag us and the region into
major power rivalries.
Aside from the usual main diplomatic agendas (major power, neighboring
countries, developing countries and multilateral diplomacies), what was
unique in this year’s agenda was the strong emphasis on two aspects of
Chinese diplomacy.
The first is public diplomacy and people-to-people connectivity (aka soft
power). The second is constructive engagement in global governance (by
providing more public goods).
Obviously, in these grand aspects, we share common interests with China.
We hope China realizes this and continues to further consolidate the
agreement signed by former president Hu Jintao and President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono and the Indonesia-China strategic partnership becomes
the pillar of the ASEAN-China strategic partnership.
Continued cooperation to support an ASEAN-led multilateral framework in
the region is important for the development of peace, stability and prosperity
in the region.
Madame Fuying is no stranger to the Centre for Strategic and
International Studies (CSIS). I had the honor of meeting Madame Fuying in
person last year during a bilateral strategic consultation in Beijing.
From her thoughtful attentiveness to our concerns and the self-assured
feminine grace she exuded in delivering China’s concerns, also from
experiences recounted by several CSIS founders that have worked together
with her for quite some time, I have to agree with the many Chinese
netizens that a “Fuying” style is indeed the fresh nuance that China’s
diplomacy needs. ●
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