As American exceptionalism falls, Chinese exceptionalism rises

The chaos at the Capitol could not have been better timed for a Chinese leadership preparing to celebrate the Communist Party’s centenary
To them it shows a broken democracy, unfit to lecture others, and proves that China’s free-market authoritarianism is the true path to peace and prosperity

Wang Xiangwei

Published: 9:30am, 16 Jan 2021

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Over the past two weeks, the rest of the world has watched aghast as the United States degenerates into its biggest political crisis in recent memory.

The implications of the mob attack on the Capitol building, widely seen as the most hallowed temple of American democracy, by thousands of supporters of the US President Donald Trump, will continue to reverberate around the world for a long time to come.

The most immediate fallout is the serious erosion of American exceptionalism in which prominent Americans have long trumpeted US virtues and norms such as fair elections and smooth transfers of power as examples for the rest of the world to follow – the “shining city upon a hill” referred to in John Winthrop’s 1630 sermon that was so often quoted by former president Ronald Reagan.

This is particularly true in the eyes of Chinese officials and the public alike at a time when the superpower competition between the countries is heating up and the incoming administration of Joe Biden is widely expected to form an alliance with like-minded Western countries to promote democratic values to counter China’s rise and its autocratic regime.

The ghastly sight of the riot at the Capitol has shown a divided America, characterised by a lack of trust in government and the political system and aggravated by increasingly strong partisan conflicts and stark racial inequality.

03:23

China mocks the US as Beijing compares chaos at Capitol with Hong Kong protests

The crisis will no doubt strengthen the view in the corridors of power in Beijing and of the man in the street that Chinese exceptionalism is on the rise as American exceptionalism is on the way down.

The timing could not have been better for the Chinese leaders as they make elaborate preparations for celebrating the centenary anniversary of the ruling Communist Party on July 1.

For Chinese leaders, the chaos at the Capitol and the ensuing fallout are the best evidence they have to show their people that the much-vaunted American system is broken and that the party’s authoritarian rule can deliver stability and growth without embracing democracy.

How Beijing can reduce US-China tensions ahead of the Biden presidency

To be sure, it would be naive to underestimate America’s institutional strengths. The US House of Representatives has voted to impeach Trump, charging him with incitement of insurrection and making him the first president to be impeached twice in American history. But it remains a long shot that he will be convicted in a trial by the Senate whose conviction would potentially bar him from running for federal office again.

Meanwhile, Trump remains defiant, raising concerns over what he might do in his final week of office amid warnings of pro-Trump armed protests in all 50 state capitals and in Washington before Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday. The presence of at least 20,000 National Guard troops for the swearing-in ceremony is quite a sight.

01:03

National Guard troops enter US Capitol as vote to impeach Trump begins

Even if Biden is sworn in without major problems, he has his work cut out for him in the turbulent times ahead – to rebuild and restore trust in government, the political system, and support for democracy.

More than anything, America will find it harder to trumpet itself as a beacon of democracy and lecture other countries about democratic values from now onwards.

Until recent years, China had framed the discourse on its peaceful rise around the selective use of the country’s vast historical and cultural legacies. Officials and analysts have long argued that Chinese exceptionalism means that China, deep-rooted in the Confucianism that espouses harmony and detests conflicts, will not follow the old war-ridden path of the West that a powerful country is bound to seek hegemony.

For proof, scholars and the public alike relish citing how the Han Chinese dynasties had no distinct tradition of foreign invasion. For example, in the early 15th century of the Ming dynasty, Zheng He commanded what was then the world’s biggest fleet to undertake seven extraordinary expeditions to reach as far as the western Pacific and Indian oceans to display the emperor’s wealth and power, unlike the brutal Western powers, whose expeditions were aimed at seeking commercial gains or colonial opportunities. The Great Wall is also often cited as an example of China’s defensive mindset to keep out invaders.

Chinese President Xi Jinping. Photo: Xinhua

There were hopes at home and abroad that as China embraced free-market principles to enable four decades of spectacular economic growth, economic freedom could lead to political liberalisation.

But those hopes were probably dashed forever when President Xi Jinping came to power in late 2012.

Since then, the Chinese leadership has strengthened the party’s control at all levels of society and proclaimed that the party controls everything in the country.

Xi has repeatedly called for confidence in the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the party’s theories, the political system, and the culture, a doctrine known as “Four Confidences” just as China’s external environment worsens.

Trump’s unpredictable and impulsive presidency may have brought about a free fall in relations between the countries in the past four years but it has also triggered unprecedented changes in America’s domestic and international politics which have ultimately benefited Xi’s and the party’s standing at home.

When the coronavirus outbreak began in December 2019, the Chinese government was heavily criticised at home and abroad, prompting some overseas media commenters to liken its initial mishandling of the outbreak to the Soviet Union’s cover up of the meltdown at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986. Political fallout from the cover-up is widely believed to have contributed to the end of the Soviet Union.

Ccoronavirus is no Chernobyl, but a wake-up call for China’s autocratic rule

But after three weeks of obfuscation the Chinese authorities took resolute and draconian measures that have succeeded in taming the virus and restoring life largely back to normal. Over the past week, the government has put much of Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing, under strict lockdown but officials remain confident of containing the new outbreak in the next two weeks.

While the virus continues to ravage much of the world, China is expected to be the only major economy in the world to register positive growth for last year and to grow around 8 per cent for this year as its factories hum at full capacity, exports soar, stock markets boom, and its currency the yuan appreciates against the US dollar. On top of that, China has announced that it has effectively eradicated absolute poverty in the country.

02:47

China looks to boost its middle class as it wraps up Xi Jinping’s anti-poverty drive

All this has boosted national pride and patriotism and the party’s authority, which are further helped by massive coverage of Washington’s dismal failure to contain the virus and unfolding political chaos.

It is against this background that Xi will outline his vision on July 1 for how the party will lead the country forward in its new development phase and double down on China’s unique model of combining the party’s authoritarian rule with free-market principles.

Wang Xiangwei is a former editor-in-chief of the South China Morning Post. He is now based in Beijing as editorial adviser to the paper