Xi Jinping’s Boao Forum speech this week revealed a surprisingly status quo orientation to the international order. Journalists watch on screen as China’s President Xi Jinping delivers a speech during the opening of the Boao Forum for Asia on 20 April (STR/AFP via Getty Images) Published 22 Apr 2021 13:00 0 Comments
As China’s economic revival has given the country a global weight commensurate with its demographic scale, the choices it makes are crucial for regional and indeed global prosperity and peace. After the 1997 Asian financial crisis, for instance, the People’s Republic of China opted not to devalue its currency to take advantage of the weaknesses of those affected, buying significant goodwill among its neighbours. Yet its more recent decision to create nearly 3000 acres of reclaimed land in the disputed waters of the South China Sea and place military installations on newly established “islands” has created a highly charged strategic dynamic in one of the world’s most crucial waterways. What China does matters.