President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping have offered friendly public displays during Xi’s state visit to Washington. Once again, however, the Chinese delegation traveling with Xi has shown its practiced disdain for local customs and etiquette. This impoliteness reflects the Chinese Communist Party’s demand for absolute loyalty to Xi and its respect only for enforced boundaries.
Numerous videos on Thursday showed a Chinese state media press officer shouting at White House staff and the U.S. Secret Service. The official sought to bully U.S. officials into giving Chinese photographers the best positions to capture Trump and Xi’s arrival. Under diplomatic protocol, the positions assigned to U.S. and foreign media are agreed upon long before the event. The official would have known this, just as he knew his demands would have restricted U.S. media access. But what China agrees to on paper, it always seeks to renegotiate in practice. The Chinese media delegation later barged its way through American journalists in the White House.
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The public nature of democratic societies means that when Chinese officials act rudely, it is noticed. As with social media posts about the White House’s incivility, foreign public attention then reinforces negative opinions of China abroad. But this week’s events are only the tip of the iceberg. Consider a few other examples.
Following Xi’s 2015 state visit to the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth II was introduced to a police officer responsible for his security. The queen stated, “Bad luck,” adding that the Chinese had been “very rude.” The police officer informed the queen that a Chinese delegation had stormed out of a planning meeting, threatening to cancel the entire visit, in protest over how far away protesters would be kept from Xi. Note the similar give-no-ground, intimidatory tactic on display at the White House on Thursday.
At the 2018 APEC summit in Papua New Guinea, four Chinese diplomats forced their way into the office of that country’s foreign minister after he had refused to meet them. The diplomats had to be removed by security. Later in 2018, a Chinese reporter for the country’s preeminent (and aptly named) CCTV state broadcaster was arrested after assaulting a participant at the U.K. Conservative Party’s annual political conference. Far from being criticized for bringing dishonor to China, the reporter was widely praised back home. The Chinese Embassy also showed no contrition, blaming the Conservative Party for the incident.
Chinese diplomats are also often deployed to harass human rights protesters abroad. We saw this in Washington on Thursday, when masked men photographed and attempted to intimidate protesters and reporters outside Xi’s hotel. They want those protesting to fear that they, or their family members, will be put on a list. Similarly, in 2022, a Chinese consul physically attacked protesters in Manchester, England. Last year, a top Chinese diplomat in Japan even threatened to behead Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
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These antics seem astonishing to Western observers. And there’s no question that they undermine China’s claim to seek only “win-win cooperation” with the world. Still, for those in the CCP’s service, unbowed public devotion to Xi and the party is a prerequisite of patriotism. The party is what matters, not the person or people. If it offends Americans, Britons, Papua New Guineans, or, indeed, the world?
So be it.
