China has gone “thermonuclear” – threatening armageddon against the United States and missile strikes on Australia.
But now, Chairman Xi Jinping is suddenly demanding “trustworthy, loveable and humble” diplomacy.
Beijing’s brand of statecraft isn’t based on subtle signalling. But threatening a nuclear firestorm was previously the personal domain of North Korea’s tyrannical Kim Jong-un.
“It is one thing to deal with a power that has a clear goal; one might be at cross-purposes, but at least one knows where matters stand. A power lashing out like a belligerent drunk, however, is more difficult to address,” warns professor of Chinese foreign relations Sulmaan Wasif Khan.
And Beijing’s messaging is certainly belligerent.
“We must be prepared for an intense showdown between China and the US,” Global Times news service executive editor Hu Xijin wrote.
“The number of China’s nuclear warheads must reach the quantity that makes US elites shiver should they entertain…