Xi Jinping's Quest for National Dignity in the Age of Trump

Strategic Insights -

As Xi Jinping, China's leader since 2012, prepares for a meeting with President Trump in South Korea, a deeply ingrained sense of national pride and the legacy of a 19th-century Chinese official weigh heavily on his decisions. Commissioner Lin Zexu, celebrated for standing up to Britain in a confrontation over trade, serves as a symbol of China's determination to never bow to foreign pressure again. For Xi, Lin's story embodies the importance of being open to the West on China's own terms, not being forced to negotiate from a position of weakness.

Key Takeaways:

  • Xi Jinping's actions are driven by a deep emotional connection to China's history of being bullied by Western powers, particularly during the Opium War.
  • The legacy of Lin Zexu, a 19th-century Chinese official, serves as a powerful symbol of national pride and resistance against foreign encroachment.
  • Xi Jinping's strategy of pushing back against President Trump suggests that he believes China has finally accumulated the strength to succeed where Lin could not.
  • The meeting between Xi and Trump highlights a gulf between the two leaders, with China seeing itself as a victim of the international modern order, while the U.S. views China as a winner.
  • China's public security minister has vowed to carry out a "victorious people's war on drugs" in the new era, with Lin Zexu's actions serving as an inspiration.
  • Xi Jinping has been embracing the Qing official's example with particular vigor, presiding over the renovation of sites connected to Lin and promoting his legacy as a way to strengthen China.
  • Lin's defiance against British power in the 19th century has become a powerful narrative in modern Chinese nationalism, with the small room in which he was born becoming a state-sponsored heritage trail.
  • Historians agree that Lin's determination to put China's interests first was a crucial factor in the confrontation with Britain.

Statistics:

  • Lin Zexu confiscated and destroyed foreign opium worth hundreds of millions of dollars at current prices in trenches dug on the bank of the Pearl River at Humen near Guangzhou.
  • Britain sent gunboats to the coast of China to attack Guangzhou and other Chinese port cities, despite Lin's warnings that China could cut off exports of "things which your foreign countries could not exist a single day without."
  • China officially accounts for 6.2% of total global fentanyl seizures, with the United States making up 54.3% of all seizures.
  • The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that fentanyl trafficking rings import about $100 million worth of fentanyl into the U.S. each year.

Sources:

  • The New York Times
  • "The Opium War: Drugs, Dreams and the Making of Modern China" by Julia Lovell
  • "The Opium War Through Chinese Eyes" by Jeremy E. Taylor
  • "The Book of Lin Zexu" by Zhang Meiling
  • National Bureau of Statistics of China