“Stay out of Chinese internal affairs!” is the quickest way to losing the argument in today’s world. Simply put, globalization makes domestic affairs further entwined with every other nation around the globe.

Every once in awhile I will run across a comment on the web or will be told in person that one (me, Americans, etc.) should stay out of China’s internal affairs. By stating this line one has already put oneself on the defensive and with any knowledgeable person schooled in international affairs this will equate to quickly losing the argument. As to why this line of debate will lose often:

• Defensive Arguments: By staying on the defensive, one rarely get the chance to turn the argument around while the attacker continues to point-by-point explain why it matters to care about what happens in China. In fact, by playing defensive, one brings out further criticisms and problems about China and China only rather than dealing ever trying to win the argument.
• International Affairs Majors: Those who lean towards International Economics / Neo-Liberalism will quickly delve into the effects of globalization on the world today. What one country does internally can easily affect the outcome of another country’s economy. When the US continues to subsidize its agriculture industry to help keep agricultural jobs within the US, poorer nations where agriculture is their main export can no longer compete in the world market causing job loses and economic instability in that country. Japanese textbooks that wash over what happened in Nanjing during World War Ii creates diplomatic uproars between the Japanese and Chinese governments due to historical sensitivities.

So, what is the right way to go about dealing with someone who is complaining about what is going on within China? Know international history well and what country the person is coming from. If the person (let’s say an American) is complaining about how horrible things are in a certain Chinese province, start doing comparisons with how Americans treated Native Americans.

Complaints about intellectual property rights? How else do you think the industrial revolution started within the United States except from a man who literally memorized how to make a British-patented device leading to American modernization.

Complaints over Chinese Yuan value to the American dollar? Agree with them but then say that China will first have to reclaim all the debt that the US currently owes China–about $4 trillion dollars worth.

Complaints about the environment? The US chopped down such a wide swath of forests that makes Brazil’s use of the Amazon rain forest look small in comparison.

In conclusion, when a new problem arises out of China (or any other native country), learn the international history associated to the topic and prepare to note their hypocrisy in not dealing with their own internal affairs in the right way first. Tell them they say one thing, but have done something else entirely.

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