After a Chinese admiral ranted publicly about China's deep suspicions of America's intentions, we learn his views might not be an anomaly:
"Admiral Guan was representing what all of us think about the United States in our hearts," a senior Chinese official, who deals with the United States regularly, said on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with a reporter. "It may not have been politically correct, but it wasn't an accident."
Chinese officials apparently view America's calls for China to play a larger role in international institutions "not as attempts to elevate China into the ranks of global leadership but rather as a scheme to enmesh it in a paralyzing web of commitments." This is, actually, not so far from the truth, but not so diabolical as it seems, either. If a country invests in international institutions and the norms that go along with them, it does become enmeshed in various real and rhetorical commitments -- to human rights, to economic stability, to the global system -- which do limit that country's sovereignty. We just happen to think those limits are pretty beneficial.
If China's communist elite doesn't agree, we're in for a difficult few decades ahead.
-- Tim Fernholz
