OPINION: “Fuying" Style: China’s fresh diplomatic gambit
Jakarta Post, 21 March 2013.
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.
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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