Book Review: Qian Qichen's Ten Episodes in China’s Diplomacy

By Amrita Jash

Qian, Qichen (2005), Ten Episodes in China’s Diplomacy (HarperCollins Publishers: New York), pp. vi-352, $, ISBN-10: 0-06-085419-7.

In Ten Episodes in China’s Diplomacy, Qian Qichen attempts to provide a deep understanding of the theory and practice of China’s diplomacy in ten major historical episodes. The study's main object is how China addressed the realpolitik issues at its nadir (1989) and made its way out with its diplomatic skills. It is the "how" factor that is central to the book, which emerges strongly from the "when" and "why" of China, with the other nations of the world in dire straits.

The book is based on the author's experiences as a diplomat who bridged gaps during China's most critical years. With his portfolio as China’s Foreign Minister, Qian Qichen's accounts are based on anecdotes and personal experiences in the anxious hours of decision-making during China’s quest to expand its participation in world affairs under the anguish of the Tiananmen massacre. Therefore, this volume is valuable to the present literature as it directly comes from the horse’s mouth. The book is a narrative with historical precedents.

Qian Qichen's perception yields numerous conclusions regarding the quality of diplomacy as a tactical tool and as a strategic weapon to address the issues at hand. Diplomacy is an art of peace, which China attempts with its bargaining skills. It suggests several breakthroughs in China’s relations with the rest of the world, such as with the Soviet Union, Indonesia, and South Korea. It is reflected in how, in foreign relations, every minute is an opportunity (China’s "Funeral Diplomacy") and how China meticulously made every challenge (the Gulf Crisis) an opportunity. The Neo-Realist approach of "self-help" is significantly observed in China’s endeavors in international relations. In the book, there is a constant emphasis on China as a "large country" (p. 57, 74, 156), as a stabilizing force in Asia and the world, as peaceful in nature, and lastly, as the sole legal representative of the Chinese people. Every Chinese diplomatic mission to another country emphasizes China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. It is dominant in terms of China’s persuasion of its "one China policy" in all its diplomatic fervor in these ten major episodes: Indonesia (p. 103), APEC-Chinese Taipei (p. 108), ROK (p. 125), South Africa (p. 206, 221, 228), and France (p. 247, 248, 251). It appreciates how China triumphed against all the odds and transformed them into "evens." The book also shows how Deng Xiaoping, Li Peng, and Jiang Zemin strived hard to protect China's independence, sovereignty, and national pride.

The volume is intriguing as it provokes the reader to think about how China played its cards against the big powers and got its way out, even with its Achilles heel. The book also shows how personalities matter in diplomatic calculations regarding their attitudes and actions. In some instances, Qian defines the personal characteristics of other diplomats, like "gentle, strong backbone, poker face, and submissive," to bring a "personal factor" into the diplomatic maneuver. But in my view, the impetus of this volume is set in the concluding lines of the author. The optimism that "Following the return of Hong Kong and Macao to the motherland, the Chinese people had reason to anticipate the return of Taiwan to the motherland, [...] would finally be fulfilled" (p. 282) holds the key to China’s diplomatic quest. This statement validates China’s roadmap to its final destination, where it has to tread a few more miles. Therefore, diplomacy is a long-term goal with an inherent national interest. Hence, China’s view of the world through the eyes of a diplomat is the epitome of China’s art of diplomacy and decision-making.

A remarkable feature of the book is the way it has been articulated, which is central to the author’s perceptions and conclusions: a feature that can be seen in the wealth of its facts, timelines, cognition, descriptions of personalities, usage of idioms, and others, which make the work an indispensable source for understanding China’s foreign policy. It represents a thorough analysis of the problems involved and presents convincing conclusions. This volume testifies to China’s diplomacy through the force of words and not the barrel of the gun. It is not gunboat diplomacy but a rather pragmatic diplomacy, or, as China put it, "big country diplomacy." Diplomacy is the art of turning a challenge into an opportunity; this is what China excelled at when caught in the quagmire of international isolation. China transformed enmity into amity through the calculus of pragmatism and its art of peace. China has played it safe with its cautious mind, weighing relative costs against relative gains. It also showed that China came out of the ashes of its international crisis strong and with a strategic place on the world stage.

As the author is a Chinese diplomat, specific biases are reflected in defining the diplomatic attempts in terms of their successes and failures. Overall, the book offers a rich tapestry of China’s diplomatic skills and decision-making mindset.

With its wealth of "diplomatic" ideas, the book is not just for diplomats or national security advisers who are experts on China. It is an indispensable volume for students of international relations, academicians, policymakers, and anyone who has a keen interest in understanding China and its worldview. The reader is introduced to the situations that shaped the decisions, so even those without knowledge in the field will find Qian Qichen’s book a useful read. It is clearly arranged, accessible, and written lucidly and in good style.

This memoir of a Chinese diplomat is well worth reading every episode.

About the Author: 

Dr. Amrita Jash (ORCID: 0000-0002-7004-694X) is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), India, and Co-Founder of IndraStra Global. She was a Pavate Fellow at the Department of POLIS, University of Cambridge. Dr. Jash has authored the book titled; The Concept of Active Defence in China’s Military Strategy (2021).

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