BEIJING, May 26, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – China is digging in for a tough period
of deteriorating ties with the United States, fanning the flames of
patriotism with Korean War films, a viral song on the trade war, and
editorials lambasting Washington.
The trade spat has turned into a war of words since President Donald Trump
blacklisted Huawei last week over concerns the telecom giant’s equipment
could be used by Beijing for espionage.
The move, which bans US companies from providing technology Huawei needs,
came as the two sides have yet to resume trade negotiations after they
exchanged steep increases in tariffs.
A commentary on state-run Xinhua news agency Friday said China now had a
“deeper understanding” of US “capriciousness” and was ready to fight with its
“Long March” spirit.
It echoes President Xi Jinping’s tough stance when he called on cadres
earlier this week to brace themselves for a “new Long March” — recalling the
legendary strategic retreat by Communist revolutionaries in the 1930s who
regrouped and went on to triumph in 1949.
Xi warned local officials of “complicated and long-term effects” of
external influences.
The world’s top two economies will “go through a long period of irrational
conflict,” said Zhang Yansheng, chief researcher at the China Center for
International Economic Exchanges, at a government organised briefing
Wednesday.
“And then during this process, step by step… come to understand each
other, resist each other, and (finally) cooperate with each other.”
– ‘Selfish and arrogant’ –
Trump has left the door open for reconciliation with plans to meet
President Xi on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan next month.
But Chinese state media have ramped up the rhetoric.
A Xinhua commentary Thursday called the US government “selfish and
arrogant”.
“The US is defying international rules, abandoning cooperation agreements
and harping on America first, American privilege and American
exceptionalism,” it said.
Since Trump raised tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods in mid-May,
the Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily has been running a daily column
tag-lined “an alarm bell”, rejecting Trump’s arguments that China’s rise was
leading to American losses.
Korean War films stoking anti-US sentiments from the 1950s were broadcast
for six consecutive days on state television from May 16, reminding audiences
of a time when the Cold War came to China’s doorstep as it fought on North’s
side against US-led UN forces defending the South.
Meanwhile, a song penned by a former Chinese government official vowing to
beat the US “out of its wits” on the trade war went viral this week, before
it was pulled down from popular social media platforms WeChat and Weibo for
violating their content rules.
The song is set to the tune of a well-known wartime anti-Japanese
propaganda film, “Tunnel War”.
“The Chinese nation is facing a dangerous threat now, similar to the
difficult times addressed in the film,” lyricist Zhao Liangtian told AFP.
“I want to use this song to awaken the masses. We need to unite as one to
develop and to fight.”
– ‘Fake’ patriotism –
Chinese netizens have rallied around Huawei after Trump’s threat to
kneecap the company, which is widely seen as a move to thwart Beijing’s hi-
tech ambitions.
An interview last week with the telecom giant’s founder, Ren Zhengfei, was
one of the top trending topics on China’s Twitter-like microblogging platform
Weibo.
Hundreds of commentators said they wouldn’t abandon the company, while a
few called for boycotting iPhones.
But several others said the idea of smashing iPhones was “mere fake
patriotism,” after Ren himself said his family uses Apple products.
“US attempts to damage Huawei is only a delay tactic, it won’t lead to a
deadlock,” said Shi Yinhong, director of the American studies centre at
Renmin University.
But China’s tech sector would have to brace itself for a long, painful
period as it had relied heavily on American technologies, he said.
“The American door is closing,” he said, “but China still doesn’t have a
plan B.”