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How Beijing missed an opportunity in Libya
Beijing invests a lot of diplomatic and public-relations effort in persuading the world that China’s “peaceful rise” is nothing to fear. This is especially true in Africa, where government and business links to China increase by the day.
Yet recent events in Libya highlight Beijing’s apparent misunderstanding of what precisely makes others uneasy about China’s rise, and how best to address those concerns.
Libya’s recent turmoil represents a missed opportunity for Beijing to have shown its readiness to shoulder the responsibilities of a great power. China could, and should, have played an influential role in the international response to the Libyan people’s struggle to overthrow the regime of Moammar Gadhafi.
To read the full Wall Street Journal op-ed by Professor Steve Tsang, Director of the China Policy Institute, click here.