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Instructions:
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Why? Support your argument with examples and theoretical concepts you have learned this week.
"China is a passive power, whose reflex is to shy away from challenges and hide when international crises erupt."
Your post should exhibit careful thought and logical reasoning and provide evidence for your position. You are also required to read and reply to other students. Your response should offer new substantiated ideas or thoughtful questions. Do not forget to cite!
I half agree with the statement. I wouldn't say that China is a passive power, but it's true that China tends to shy away from challenges when international crises erupt. Or rather, they shy away from conflicts. China has been slowly building itself up as an economic world power for the last few decades. Their main focus is on safely securing their economic influence all over the world through trade, which means they have no interest in making enemies, and so they avoid conflicts whenever they can.
As far as world superpowers go, it's a very different approach from the United States, who is known to play the role of the Policeman of the world, constantly getting itself involved in every international crisis, picking a side and supporting it. In doing so, the United States spends large sums of money and resources on foreign conflicts on top of making new enemies along the way. China doesn't see this level of interventionism as something beneficial for their national interest. They don't want to involve themselves in anything that won't help them in their growth.
China is like a company fully focused on making money, while the USA is a company that is also highly worried about appearances. The ongoing Ukraine war is a great example of this. The USA and Europe sanctioned Russia, sacrifing economic prosperity to help Ukraine. China never sanctioned Russia. They're Russia's main trade partner. Now that the West has turned its back on Russia, more money for China. The USA helps Ukraine because the USA cares about appearances. The USA has been sitting at the top for too long and it has become accommodated with its position as the leader of the world. Their main concern is no longer to maintain their position, but to be seen as the moral compass, judge, and policeman of the world, focusing on spreading and defending Western Values.
The USA wasn't always like this. They refused to join WW2 until they were attacked themselves. No matter how much Britain and other Allied powers were pleading for help before, they wouldn't budge. The USA used to look out for their own welfare first and foremost, getting involved in foreign wars for no good reasons wasn't a good deal. This changed with the Cold War. The USA started getting involved in several international conflicts through proxy wars with the USSR. That's when the USA started fighting in the name of "democracy". Naturally, it was just to stop the spread of communism which was seen as a threat to the Western capitalist civilization, but somewhere along the way the United States started viewing itself as the moral dictator of the planet. Now, even after the Cold War, the United States still feels the need to show the world that it will defend democracy no matter what.
China, much like the old United States, doesn't care about appearances. They don't care that the Western World views them as undemocratic, authoritarian and selfish. They don't create any moral expectations that they have to uphold. Nobody in China is telling Xi Jinping that it's his moral responsibility to pick a side and help them win the War in Ukraine. China could easily turn the tide of the war if they wanted to. But they have no reason to, and they're not slaves to appearances. Now, I wouldn't call them a passive power because of that. They're not passive to those who go against their interests. They'll take swift an efficient action against those who stand in their way. They'll apply devastating sanctions to anyone who dares to openly support Taiwan for example.
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Why? Support your argument with examples and theoretical concepts you have learned this week.
"China is a passive power, whose reflex is to shy away from challenges and hide when international crises erupt."
Your post should exhibit careful thought and logical reasoning and provide evidence for your position. You are also required to read and reply to other students. Your response should offer new substantiated ideas or thoughtful questions. Do not forget to cite!
I half agree with the statement. I wouldn't say that China is a passive power, but it's true that China tends to shy away from challenges when international crises erupt. Or rather, they shy away from conflicts. China has been slowly building itself up as an economic world power for the last few decades. Their main focus is on safely securing their economic influence all over the world through trade, which means they have no interest in making enemies, and so they avoid conflicts whenever they can.
As far as world superpowers go, it's a very different approach from the United States, who is known to play the role of the Policeman of the world, constantly getting itself involved in every international crisis, picking a side and supporting it. In doing so, the United States spends large sums of money and resources on foreign conflicts on top of making new enemies along the way. China doesn't see this level of interventionism as something beneficial for their national interest. They don't want to involve themselves in anything that won't help them in their growth.
China is like a company fully focused on making money, while the USA is a company that is also highly worried about appearances. The ongoing Ukraine war is a great example of this. The USA and Europe sanctioned Russia, sacrifing economic prosperity to help Ukraine. China never sanctioned Russia. They're Russia's main trade partner. Now that the West has turned its back on Russia, more money for China. The USA helps Ukraine because the USA cares about appearances. The USA has been sitting at the top for too long and it has become accommodated with its position as the leader of the world. Their main concern is no longer to maintain their position, but to be seen as the moral compass, judge, and policeman of the world, focusing on spreading and defending Western Values.
The USA wasn't always like this. They refused to join WW2 until they were attacked themselves. No matter how much Britain and other Allied powers were pleading for help before, they wouldn't budge. The USA used to look out for their own welfare first and foremost, getting involved in foreign wars for no good reasons wasn't a good deal. This changed with the Cold War. The USA started getting involved in several international conflicts through proxy wars with the USSR. That's when the USA started fighting in the name of "democracy". Naturally, it was just to stop the spread of communism which was seen as a threat to the Western capitalist civilization, but somewhere along the way the United States started viewing itself as the moral dictator of the planet. Now, even after the Cold War, the United States still feels the need to show the world that it will defend democracy no matter what.
China, much like the old United States, doesn't care about appearances. They don't care that the Western World views them as undemocratic, authoritarian and selfish. They don't create any moral expectations that they have to uphold. Nobody in China is telling Xi Jinping that it's his moral responsibility to pick a side and help them win the War in Ukraine. China could easily turn the tide of the war if they wanted to. But they have no reason to, and they're not slaves to appearances. Now, I wouldn't call them a passive power because of that. They're not passive to those who go against their interests. They'll take swift an efficient action against those who stand in their way. They'll apply devastating sanctions to anyone who dares to openly support Taiwan for example.
