Michael Schuman, Columnist

Xi Needs a Confucian Foreign Policy

China is becoming a superpower. It should act like one.

July 21, 2018 at 9:00 PM UTC

Michael Schuman is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global China Hub and the author of "Superpower Interrupted: The Chinese History of the World" and "The Miracle: The Epic Story of Asia's Quest for Wealth."

Fair points.
Photographer: Ted Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

This article is for subscribers only.

China has suffered a series of diplomatic blows lately. Relations with the U.S. are at a multi-decade low as a trade war escalates. This month, Malaysia suspended four Chinese-backed projects as its prime minister tries to pull away from Beijing’s orbit. From Myanmar to Sri Lanka to Vietnam, China’s overseas investments are being met with a growing backlash.

These are all setbacks to President Xi Jinping’s hopes for global greatness. Despite his aspirations to play the responsible world statesman, Xi’s foreign-policy record is filled with squabbles, misfires and unfulfilled promise. If he’s going to restore China to superpower status and cement its dominance in East Asia, he should take a cue from Chinese history about how to wield power.