Welcome to the Club

This year was supposed to mark China’s coming out party. With the premier athletes from across the globe descending upon Beijing this summer for the Olympics, the world was set to take notice of China’s growing economic and political clout. Problem is, it has—but not of its positive aspects, as Beijing had originally hoped.

China has gotten more than it bargained for. The voyage of the Olympic torch through the West has brought Beijing more news coverage, but has also been accompanied by rowdy demonstrations, railing against Beijing’s perceived indifference to suffering in Sudan and Tibet.

This in turn has prompted a nationalist backlash by Chinese at home and abroad. Because of the anti-Beijing rallies in Paris, where a disabled Chinese man carrying the torch was accosted by pro-Tibetan protesters, a Chinese boycott of French supermarket chain Carrefour has gained credence. Western business and media outlets in the country are now increasingly under attack.

A rise in Chinese nationalism, from Beijing's point of view, could be seen as a welcome byproduct of the Sino-Western tensions. But politburo members in Beijing know that the dissent could easily turn toward the autocratic government, as it did in Tiananmen Square in 1989. All in all, the crowning achievement of attaining the Olympics appears to have backfired on Beijing, largely in the form of increased Western hostility.

Unfortunately, for China, this is just the beginning. With power, comes responsibility--and more importantly, attention. As Mark Leonard points out, “China is now living in a goldfish bowl where everything they do is being looked at very closely.”

The message is clear: the days of quietly funding corrupt dictators in Africa in return for oil, with little or no criticism, is over. In a globalized world, word travels fast, and Beijing, despite its best efforts, cannot block out all the bad press.

Unlike previous empires, even recent ones such as 19th century Britain, global powers cannot toil abroad without the rest of world's eyes fixed upon them. And the best of intentions do not matter on the international stage. Having a global presence often provokes indigenous antagonism—just ask Washington.

Indeed, American policymakers must be reveling in sharing the burden of global resentment with Bejing. China’s declining international popularity was recently borne out in a FT/Harris poll. The majority of the populations in Spain, France, Great Britain, Italy, and Germany, now, for the first time, view China as the biggest threat to global stability—a crown happily relinquished by Washington.

With an expanding military and economy, represented internationally by an aggressive sovereign wealth fund, Beijing should expect greater global enmity. Anti-Chinese economic protectionism is on the rise in Western capitals, and is not due to ebb anytime soon.

Principally, there are two options available to the ruling Communists. They could tread lightly and avoid making international waves. Or they could utilize their power to gain more global influence, taking on the augmented criticism. This power paradox comes with the territory. Welcome to the club.