China chafes at 'tough' label
Take off tinted lenses, says Foreign Minister on concerns over assertiveness

Peh Shing Huei, China Bureau Chief

BEIJING: Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi yesterday rejected growing international concern that Beijing is becoming more tough and assertive, urging the world instead to remove its tinted lenses.

He also said that it is up to the United States to improve relations that soured over the past two months, insisting that China's principled stance in diplomacy should not be seen as a tough posture.

Mr Yang said critics who label Beijing as 'more and more tough' do not recognise it is just defending its sovereignty, security and development interests.

'To stick to one's principles and being tough are two completely different matters,' he said at a media conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the country's top legislature. 'And in state-to-state relations, one should always uphold principles. It has always been the mission of China's diplomacy to defend China's sovereignty, security and development interests and to promote world peace and development.'

His comments came after a few months of seemingly bruising diplomacy by post-recession Beijing, including thwarting the Copenhagen climate change conference and issuing stronger than usual warnings to superpower US over its arms sale to Taiwan.

China's neighbours have also expressed concerns that the world's third-largest economy could be flexing its muscles more, with the likes of India and Myanmar having border issues with Beijing, and Vietnam tussling with the Chinese government over mining rights and the South China Sea.

But Mr Yang, who was responding to a question by a CNN journalist, hoped the world can appreciate China as a unique country with its own set of problems, and stop appraising it through 'coloured spectacles or stereotyped perceptions'.

He believed that China is standing on higher moral ground.

'If a country which defends its core interests and dignity is seen as being tough, while another country which undermines the interests of other states is taken as par for the course, then where is the justice?,' he asked rhetorically, in an obvious reference to the US.

Analyst Shi Yinhong from Renmin University said it was timely for Mr Yang to address the perception that China is getting more arrogant and difficult to deal with.

'Everyone is saying China is proud and assertive now,' he said. 'But hardly anyone points out the fact that China has been very measured in its response and it is not detracting from its path of peaceful development.'

While Beijing insists it is not baring its teeth, it is also not ready to back down from its spat with Washington just yet.

Mr Yang made clear that the ball is in its Pacific rival's court.

'The responsibility for the difficulties in China-US relations does not lie with China,' he said. 'The United States should take seriously China's position and respect China's core interests.'

Beijing suspended military exchanges in January with the US after the US $6.4 billion (US $9 billion) weapons deal to Taiwan, which China regards as a renegade province.

China also threatened sanctions against US firms involved in the sale and protested again when President Barack Obama met the Dalai Lama, whom Beijing regards as a dangerous separatist, at the White House last month.

The Sino-US enmity has also emerged at a time when the US and other world powers seek Chinese support for pressure on Iran over its nuclear programme.

Mr Yang repeated Beijing's position that a resolution of the Iran nuclear issue must be achieved through talks, not sanctions. And asked about foreign concerns over its growing energy links with Africa, Mr Yang said it benefits African nations by bringing badly needed trade and infrastructure development.

shpeh@sph.com.sg