The cloud of anti-Western nationalism hanging over China’s Communist Party congress

From Ukraine to Covid-19, nationalist takes are dominating public debate online

Leaders will have to take them into account as they prepare for the five-yearly gathering in autumn, observers say

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Published: 7:00am, 3 May 2022Updated: 9:43am, 3 May 2022

Generations of modern Chinese rulers have taken pride in China’s political system, touting its ability to transcend the ideological divides and partisanship that have plagued Western politics.

Deng Xiaoping urged China “not to argue” so it could focus on economic growth. Hu Jintao called on the country to bu zheteng, or not to rock the boat with ideological debates.

But that approach is being tested this year with a polarised – and in many cases, ugly – debate on Chinese social media, on topics from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the virtues of China’s zero-Covid policy, to the efficacy of some kinds of traditional Chinese medicine.

Regardless of the issue, the discussions are invariably hijacked by one nationalistic question: does the outcome betray Chinese interests and benefit Americans?

“There are nationalistic voices that are against everything – against the US is good, and are for anything that the US is against,” said Gu Su, a political scientist at Nanjing University.

“Many of the discussions are not about the actual rights and wrongs but only about picking a side between enemies and friends.”

And they are debates that the ruling Communist Party will not be able to ignore as it prepares for its national congress, observers say.