Is China becoming hegemonic?

XI JINPING, president of the People’s Republic of China and secretary general of the Communist Party of China, has made a very significant speech on the occasion of observance of the 40th anniversary of China’s opening up and the launching of reforms. He delivered the speech in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, which is chosen for celebrating important events at the state level. There is no reason to doubt that the 40th anniversary of China’s opening up and reform is a very important occasion for celebration. Xi made a long speech and covered issues relating to reforms and China’s unequivocal position at the international level.
China is known as New China although its civilisation is 5,000 years old. Historically speaking, China renewed itself from time to time. But the most significant renewal of China took place in 1949 with the victory of the Chinese Revolution in 1949 under the leadership of Mao Zedong. Another very significant renewal took place in 1978 under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping with China’s opening up and reforms. The later leadership carried it forward step by step giving due attention to domestic objective conditions. The intelligent leadership of China understands that China can move towards development and prosperity through continuing renewal. 
The salient aspects of Xi’s speech are as follows: (i) China ‘poses no threat’ to any country with a warning that it cannot be pushed around; (ii) no one is in a position to dictate the Chinese people what should or should not be done; (ii) we must resolutely reform what should and can be changed, we must resolutely not reform what should not and cannot be changed; (iv) ‘We actively promote the construction of an open world economy, build a community of human destiny, promote the transformation of the global governance system, clearly oppose hegemonism and power politics’; and (v) ‘China is increasingly approaching the centre of the world stage and becoming a recognised builder of world peace, a contributor to global development’ and a defender of the international order.
As a citizen of a third-world country, I consider Xi’s unequivocal position regarding hegemonism is reassuring and generates a feeling of relief. Much has been said and written by the contenders of China that it is increasingly taking a hegemonic posture, which does not stand rigorous scrutiny. Regarding hegemony, China’s revered leader Deng Xiaoping asserted in the floor of the United Nations: ‘China is not a tyrant, or a superpower. If the day ever comes when China changes colour and becomes a superpower, and tyrannises the world, and oppresses people, and invades and exploits others, then the people of the world should label China social-imperialist. They should expose her, oppose her, and together with Chinese people, overthrow her’; a similar view has been echoed by Xi Jinping. 
Hegemonism as a state practice is not the monopoly of a big power like the United States alone. There are smaller powers and developing countries that can be termed as hegemonic. The United States is a national security state. So are India and Israel. Being a national security state, it reserves the right to hit at any corner of the globe if any development turns into a threat to USA’s national security as we observed in the case of some Middle Eastern countries and Afghanistan. India is considered to be a big brother towards its smaller neighbouring countries. Lesser is said to be better than more as far as Israel is considered. Israel is wiping out Palestinian population gradually. Even two state solutions seem to be unacceptable to Israel. Palestinian population is subjected to daily decimation and harassment in the most brutal manner.
China claims to be exceptional in this respect. Speaking to African leaders in Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, China’s president Xi Jinping said: ‘On the other hand, we also face challenges unseen before. Hegemony and power politics persist, protectionism and unilateralism are mounting; conflicts, terrorism, famine and epidemics continue to plague us; security challenges, both traditional and non-traditional remain as complex and inter-oven as ever.’ Despite expressing concerns repeatedly regarding hegemonism by the Chinese leadership, there is no let-up on part of the critics of China. China is following the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, which means the use of incentives and disincentives through the market mechanism. There was a time when market mechanism was a taboo in the communist world. It was also thought that the stage of capitalism can be bypassed and create socialism right away. This has been proved wrong in the erstwhile Soviet Union and other Eastern European countries. The Chinese leadership understood that market mechanism should not be totally eschewed and market mechanism can be used to provide incentives. Such incentives can be used to enhance productivity. Without the growth of productive forces, China cannot directly build socialism. An American Marxist economist said, ‘Socialism in an underdeveloped country is an underdeveloped socialism.’ The Chinese leadership honestly understood that market mechanism should be given a space for the growth of productive forces. In this respect, the United States is the best candidate for socialism. China is frantically trying to catch up with the United States because of the fact that socialism cannot be built in a vacuum. Many well-meaning Marxist think that China has become a capitalist power. The behaviour of a capitalist power is to seek hegemony. Therefore, China would automatically turn to be hegemonic. As the Communist Party leadership is in command, the apprehension of China becoming hegemony is unfounded. However, everything depends on the ideological purity of the party. Communist parties also make mistakes of right or left deviation. This is corrected through inner party democracy. China’s Belt and Road initiative has been taken by the critics of China as a malign motive to dominate the world. This is an absurd proposition. Because of involvement of many dozens of countries, it is well nigh impossible for China to expect loyalty of these countries in every way. Henry Kissinger said, ‘The modern western conception of international relations emerged in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when the medieval structure of Europe dissolved into a group of states of approximately equal strength, and the Catholic Church split into various denominations. Balance of power was less a choice than an inevitability. No state was strong enough to impose its will; no religion retained sufficient authority to sustain universality. The concept of sovereignty and legal equality of states became the basis of international law and diplomacy.’ This idea is also true with regard to Belt and Road countries. The Belt and Road countries have many leverages in their hand to oppose China’s hegemony. Infrastructure development by China in these countries will benefit them economically, socially and politically. Every country shall assert to negate china’s hegemony.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net