'Two sessions' 2024: China should end its low-profile diplomatic approach, senior envoy says

A senior Chinese diplomat has said that the country is now a major player on the world stage and can no longer be "hiding its capacities and biding its time", a diplomatic approach proposed by former paramount leader Deng Xiaoping.

Lu Shaye, the ambassador to France, said: "When we were relatively poor and backward, Western countries looked down upon us in dealing with us. Now, they basically look at us as equals, and in some cases even look up to us.

"A big country should act like a big country, it cannot hide its capacities and bide its time as it had in the past ... If you have grown as big as an elephant, you can no longer hide behind trees."

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He made the comments in an interview with China Youth Daily during the annual "two sessions", when the national legislature and top political advisory body meet.

Deng coined the phrase about China" hiding its capacities and biding its time" when he put forward the idea that the country should keep a low profile and focus on its own development in 1990 following the end of the Cold War.

It has been a cornerstone of the country's foreign policy since then, although it has been less pronounced since Xi Jinping came to power 10 years ago and was seen to promote a more assertive approach dubbed "Wolf Warrior diplomacy" after a series of nationalistic action films.

Lu is often seen as a leading Wolf Warrior and triggered a diplomatic crisis last year when he questioned the sovereignty of former Soviet republics, telling French television they did not have "effective status in international law".

In the China Youth Daily interview, Lu said it was time for China to expand its international influence through greater participation in global governance.

"If you are a responsible major power that is reliable and upholds justice, they [developing countries] will be willing to develop ties with you and respect you," he said.

Lu's comments echo those of Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who told a press conference on Thursday that the world should choose a multipolar approach over bloc confrontation and highlighted the Chinese role in trying to unify the so-called Global South and pushing for peace in Gaza and Ukraine.

China's ambasador to France Lu Shaye is seen as one of the leading "Wolf Warrior" diplomats. Photo: AP alt=China's ambasador to France Lu Shaye is seen as one of the leading "Wolf Warrior" diplomats. Photo: AP>

At present Beijing is trying to portray itself as a responsible world power through its active participation in global governance and champion of the developing world as its rivalry with the United States intensifies.

In a separate interview with China News Service, Lu also called on Europe to abandon the "cold war mindset" and "bloc confrontation".

He said: "We hope to treat Europe as a partner, but Europe views China as both a partner and a competitor, and moreover Europe increasingly views China as a so-called 'systemic rival'.

"This by and large reflects a certain sense of a cold war mentality and the mentality of bloc confrontation. [Europe] still differentiates countries based on ideology and social systems. It regards a country as an alien if its ideology and social system are different from its own."

The EU labelled China as a "partner, competitor and systemic rival" in 2019, and relations have since taken a further downward turn with Brussels currently pushing for retroactive tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports among other measures.

Brussels has also been under increasing pressure from Washington to jointly respond to an "increasingly assertive" China.

China has repeatedly urged the EU to uphold its "strategic autonomy", an idea championed by European leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron, who has warned the bloc not to become a "vassal" of the US.

Lu said he hoped both France and Europe could maintain an "independent" policy towards China in the face of increasing US pressure.

He cited four principles - "independence, mutual understanding, foresight, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation" - put forward by Xi, saying they symbolised the "China-France spirit".

He added: "This also applies to China-EU relations. If China and Europe can follow these four principles, I believe many problems between the two sides will be solved."

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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