China should worry less about old enemies, more about ex-friends
American policy is driven more by disillusioned doves than longtime hawks
TO FIELDMICE, rabbits and voles, every shadow overhead is a hawk until proved otherwise, condemning them to lives of needless panic. Chinese nationalists seem intent on ignoring that lesson from nature. Behind rising tensions with the West, they see dangerous anti-China hawks everywhere. Specifically they feel under attack from hardliners with President Donald Trump’s ear, who are intent on keeping a rising China down.
Rather than hawks scheming to contain China, jumpy nationalists should be worrying about a different group: Americans and Europeans who were once advocates of engagement, but have been disappointed by illiberal, aggressive choices made by Chinese rulers. They are not so much hawks as unhappy ex-doves.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline "When doves cry"
From the December 15th 2018 edition
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