Of late, the bilateral relationship has evolved into something akin to a Danse Macabre.
We have previously compared the relationship between the United States and the People’s Republic of China to the Apache Dance, a Parisian stage act famous at the Moulin Rouge in the early twentieth century. Of late, however, the bilateral relationship has evolved into something akin to a Danse Macabre.
As I observed in May 2020:
Those of us who are inextricably involved with both of those nations while living, for the most part, on the periphery of these cheek-by-jowl empires, have long witnessed a decades-long ‘apache dance’. For me, the contemplation of that fluid, constantly-transmuting dialectic brings to mind the description of the come-hither performances witnessed in the New York art world as described by Tom Wolfe in The Painted Word (1975):
‘The artist was like the female in the act, stamping her feet, yelling defiance one moment, feigning indifference the next, resisting the advances of her pursuer with absolute contempt … more thrashing about … more rake-a-cheek fury … more yelling and carrying on … until finally with one last mighty and marvelously ambiguous shriek — pain! ecstasy! — she submits … Paff paff paff paff paff … How you do it, my boy! … and the house lights rise and Everyone, tout le monde, applauds …’
In recent times, that bilateral gyration is more reminiscent of a danse macabre, the dance of death that flourished as an idea, a cultural trope and a reality in the late middle ages. During an era when war, pestilence and poverty might visit a cruel fate upon anyone at any time, the danse macabre was a reminder and warning, as well as a form of comic relief that was performed as a memento mori — a reminder that we all die. The danse macabre helped the living face the inevitable even as they dealt with the horrors of the day. As part of the dance, the cadaverous messengers of Death were unequivocal:
Quod fuimus, estis; quod sumus, vos eritis
‘What we were, you are; what we are, you will be’
— from ‘Mangling May Fourth 2020 in Washington’
China Heritage, 14 May 2020
In a presentation made to the Washington Institute of Foreign Affairs on 11 February 2021, Ambassador Chas W. Freeman, Jr. chose the metaphor of the pas de deux to characterise the Sino-American relationship. In his remarks, reproduced below, Ambassador Freeman emphasised that such a balletic duet requires considerable virtuosity and offered a clear-eyed evaluation of the quality of a performance that is, in essence, a grand pas de deux.
A grand pas de deux is a suite of dances, often in five parts, that share a common theme. The five parts are the:
- Entrée: a highly ritualised and pageantry-laden prelude during which much is made of the couple’s intentions and romantic aspirations;
- Adagio: a slow and entrancing courtship during which the lead offers support to the often convoluted balancing acts of their partner;
- Variations: during which each performer takes a turn in centre stage, showcasing their athletic talents via leaps, turns and various acrobatic displays; and,
- Coda: the conclusion to the performance in which earlier set pieces are repeated in a build up to a grand finale.
The halcyon days of the Sino-American bilateral adagio have long given way to a seemingly endless round of variations. How and when a coda might result, and which performer will garner the most applause, are anybody’s guess. In the meantime, Ambassador Freeman says,
‘…let China take its own path while we take our own. We need to fix our own problems before we try to fix China’s.’
We are delighted that Ambassador Freeman has given China Heritage permission to reproduce his remarks — ‘Playing at War Games with China’ — as a chapter in Spectres & Soul: China Heritage Annual 2021.
— Geremie R. Barmé
Editor, China Heritage
20 February 2021
Note:
- The typographical style of Ambassador Freeman’s original has, for the most part, been retained, although the footnotes have been incorporated into the body of the text.
‘In America’s pas de deux with China, we have consistently been the initiator of the dance and taken the lead. We developed some well-founded complaints about Chinese economic behavior, so we launched a trade war with it. We were alarmed about China’s potential to outcompete us internationally, so we decided to try to cripple it with an escalating campaign of “maximum pressure.” We saw China as a threat to our continued military primacy, so we sought to contain and encircle it.’
— Chas W. Freeman, Jr.
The State of the Sino-American Pas de Deux in 2021 – China Heritage
China Heritage is a continuation and expansion of the China Heritage Project established by Geremie R. Barmé in 2005 and the e-journal China Heritage Quarterly, which appeared under the auspices of that project from 2005 until 2012.
China Heritage, which was launched in December 2016, is also the online home of The Wairarapa Academy for New Sinology 白水書院, conceived by John Minford and Geremie R. Barmé, and its projects.
Comments
8 responses to “Sunday essay: Sino American duet is turning into a Danse Macabre”
America’s problem with China in the Pacific is America.
Even back in the days after Lincoln abolished slavery, America’s robber baron-style opportunists took slavery to the South Pacific, plenty of natives to exploit with impunity.
Ask it how it got Hawaii, American Samoa, and how it just took over the Marshall Islands for nuclear tests.
Guam kept as a territory but citizens can’t vote in US elections. So much for democracy.
Hypocrisy has no boundaries for those who say ‘do what I say, not what I do’.
More hypocrisy in Hong Kong too. Before 1997 UK and US never gave a damn of any democratic rules to people in Hong Kong when they really aspired for it. After 1997, Hong Kong always voted as one of the top democratic and safe city with rules of law until previous colonisers trying to instigate a “regime”/ “colour change”, encouraging violent thug behaviour in Hong Kong like those in the Capitol in US.
As in Xinjiang, after 9/11 they needed China’s help against ” terrorists” in Xinjiang and other part of China. China did it in a different and more successful way, assisted “terrorists” to become ” good citizens” with much much less mortalities and displacement as in Afghanistan, Iraq; Syria etc . They are so jealous of China’s success. China have openly invited UN delegates to visit Xinjiang and other part of China. More delegates voted for China in human right issue than US/UK instigated resolution in UN. What is the truth?
In a similar vein to what Ambassador Chas Freeman, Jr has stated, America is like a rich man who is now less rich and actually a bit sick waking up one day, and suddenly finds that the poorest guy in the village is now a lot lot richer and has new status too! He desperately wants to do something about it, anything! And if he could, he wants to kill the new rich guy! His huge problem is he himself has no plan, and the new rich guy is not stupid; and in fact has a plan!
Chas Freeman knows it very well, a legend, as do many good Americans who were able to see through their country’s hypocrisy years ago.
Chiang Kai-shek never turned Taiwan into a democracy either, elections for all only happened in 1996.
Their constitution also still claims mainland China and the South China Sea as part of ROC too.
It is quite obvious that the US understands where the problem lies. Why don’t they fix it?
I think the answer lies in the portrayal of the American Sheriff in the Western Pacific and South China Sea. It reminds me of the Hollywood movie I loved as a teenager “Gunfight at the OK Corral”. Be it Western movies or the American military adventures overseas, the OK Corral scenario mindset never leaves the Americans. Wyatt Earp and his brothers are the American heroes and Doc Holliday (Australians, loyal friend who joins them despite being sick with consumption) the loyal ally. They have a moral duty and licensed to take out the villain, Ike Clanton and his gang. The present villain is China the last of a line of outlaws like Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam etc. The story ends with that inevitable showdown at the OK Corral. Wyatt Earp and his side are faster at the draw and all six of Clanton’s gang lay dead. The heroes put their guns back in their holsters and walk away cooly. Justice has been served. The good has triumphed over evil. End of story.
In reality the story never ends and Wyatt Earp has not always been victorious. In Korea, the score was even; in Vietnam, Wyatt Earp made an embarrassing exit from the OK Corral; in Afghanistan, the Clantons (the Taliban) are making a comeback; in Iraq, Dodge City falls into a state of chaos without continuous Wyatt Earp (American) presence. Meanwhile, their loyal ally Doc Holliday, Australia, is still sick with the consumption of corruption, abuse of privilege, sexual impropriety, compromised trade with the “enemy” and no clue as to where it is heading for the future. Meanwhile, the inability to differentiate fact from fiction continues to plague the US and the rest of the world.
Yeah, round up the posse and let’s go lynch that China outlaw, no court case needed.
Besides, they work too hard, are far too successful, and can live off less as well.
We like capitalism just so long as it is us in charge.
And, in all these moves, we failed. Completely and publicly.