Xi Jinping wants to be loved by the global south
China presented the Belt and Road Forum as an oasis of peace in a dangerous world
“Very few Chinese” know about the ruthless side of Zheng He, the Ming-dynasty explorer and eunuch admiral, a scholar once observed to Chaguan, unexpectedly, over tea in a Beijing courtyard house. Pouring fresh cups, the scholar—a member of China’s national-security establishment—warmed to his theme. In China, he explained, Zheng He is seen as a 15th-century “Santa Claus”, leading his fleet to Africa, Arabia and Asia to hand out porcelain and silks on behalf of his mighty, far-off emperor. But in such places as Sri Lanka, Zheng He is remembered as a terror, who punished local rulers for defying his imperial writ and shipped some of them back to China as captives. The Chinese public is “blissfully ignorant” about that history, sighed the scholar, blaming his country’s desire “to be loved”.
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This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Xi Jinping’s China wants to be loved”
From the October 21st 2023 edition
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