On July 26, the Hon. Kevin Rudd, former Prime Minister of Australia and President and CEO of the Asia Society, received a very warm welcome in Seattle at a book talk event for his new book “The Avoidable War: the Dangers of a Catastrophic Conflict between the US and Xi Jinping’s China.” This event was co-sponsored by the Washington State China Relations Council, the China Studies Program and the East Asia Center at the University of Washington, and the World Affairs Council of Seattle.

After briefly reviewing the history and the current status of the U.S.-China relationship, the Hon. Rudd explained “ten concentric circles of interest,” which he believes critical to understanding Xi’s worldview and long-term strategy towards the U.S. Among the ten circles which were developed by PM Rudd as he prepared this book, the politics of staying in power, national unity, and ensuring economic prosperity are among Xi’s top priorities. To improve a relationship that has been damaged by mistrust and misperceptions, Mr. Rudd suggested a “managed strategic competition” framework to prevent further attrition of the relationship and a possible catastrophic war. Mr. Rudd also addressed issues related to China’s economic model, Taiwan, and how the two countries can work together to combat pandemics like Covid.

We’d like to thank Nelson Dong, Partner at Dorsey & Whitney and a board member of the WSCRC, for moderating the discussion and providing the event venue.

The author of The First SuperApp: Inside China’s WeChat and the New Digital Revolution (“SuperApp”), Kevin Shimota, spoke to an WSCRC/WSCRF audience on July 13 to provide background and an explanation of many of the key premises of his new book about the Chinese app “WeChat.” “SuperApp” was released to the public on July 5^th and our session was Kevin’s first official book talk since the launch of the book.

In the session, Kevin, a Bellingham native, traced his journey from UW to his role as International Market Development Manager for the Tencent app WeChat. Kevin regaled us with the history of how the app grew from a simple communication tool to what is undoubtedly among the most used apps in the world today—a veritable “SuperApp.” In addition, Kevin talked about the attributes that he would assign to a “superapp” and discussed why so many companies are trying to create such a product.

The book talk can be viewed on the WSCRC YouTube channel.

In a webinar sponsored by the Washington State China Relations Fund and the World Affairs Council Tacoma, author Peter Martin discussed his new book, China’s Civilian Army: The Making of Wolf Warrior Diplomacy.

Peter Martin is a reporter for Bloomberg news based in Washington D.C., covering the Pentagon and State Department. He had just returned from travelling with Secretary Blinken to Kiev when he spoke to us. He lived and worked in China in the early 2000s and has extensive experience tracking and writing about China over the last two decades. His new book was motivated by an interest in understanding the role and evolution of China’s diplomatic corps.

The phrase” Wolf Warrior” diplomacy has been used to describe the aggressive style of Chinese diplomacy that became more strident under Xi’s administration. The name is adopted from a well-known Chinese action film released in 2015.

Though the phrase was relatively new, Peter noted that traditionally Chinese diplomats are expected to model the behavior of the Chinese military, hence his “China’s Civilian Army.” The notion of Chinese diplomats acting as civilian soldiers dates from the early days of the PRC. He noted that Chinese diplomats walk a tightrope. For the Chinese audience, diplomats need to be perceived as adhering closely to the party line, which often forces them to be rigid and aggressive in style. At the same time,  in order to succeed in overseas postings, they need to embrace international diplomacy norms and exhibit personal charisma.

The question was raised whether Wolf Warrior behavior is effective. Peter opined that, in general, Wolf Warrior diplomacy has been counterproductive for China’s image and reputation. China has become less favored, as illustrated in recent surveys. However, Peter does not expect Chinese diplomats to change their style anytime soon. He noted that the Wolf Warriors are appealing to a domestic audience and there is no one in China, Xi Jinping included, who has indicated that the diplomats should lessen their vitriol. Peter noted that many in the Chinese government feel that they are being “attacked” by foreigners who comment negatively on China’s policies and actions. Wolf Warrior diplomacy often entails vigorous and at times vitriolic rhetoric to counter these perceived foreign sleights.

Click here to watch the recording of the book talk.