China’s unusual diplomatic appointments

With the professional diplomats in the MFA unable to sufficiently adapt to and convey the changes in policy and practice initiated by Jinping, Beijing infuses reliable party cadres into diplomatic positions to aggrandize the BRI, and undermine India’s influence in the region

@Kunal_Chonkar

New Delhi: In attempts to tighten the Communist Party of China’s (CPC) vice grip on Beijing’s external operations and functions – President Xi Jinping in a rather unconventional move is deputing political appointees as Ambassadors and even positioning them as senior officers in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). The move brandishes the gravitas and intensity Jinping has when it comes to China’s foreign policy, and its outreach to advocate and aggrandize Beijing’s imperialistic ambitions.

The MFA in recent times has appointed some new ambassadors, and unusually, these new diplomats have come from outside the diplomatic sector. The latest example of these political appointments was the selection of Nong Rong as an ambassador to Pakistan. Previous to his posting to Islamabad as China’s Chief of Mission, Rong served as the Director of the Guangxi Ethnic and Religions Commission. Similarly was the appointment of Zhao Zhiyuan, the former Mayor of Dongying City in Shandong Province. He was appointed for a five-year tenure as Beijing’s top diplomat to the Philippines.

According to a Hong Kong-based analyst, who specializes in China’s political affairs, these appointments were fast-tracked soon after a report from the Fifth Inspection Group of the party’s central committee. The report heavily criticized the committee of the MFA for its insufficient implementation of the party’s organizational line and for not having a broad vision in hiring talents.

“Thus, we are witnessing that the selection of candidates from other sectors is a measure to broaden the source of officials and rectify the problems,” the analyst said. He informed that the current deputation of political appointees is the fifth batch of diplomats that have been publicly selected.

However, the analyst said that contrary to some media reports claiming that this was the first-time wherein China had made such ‘unusual’ appointments, these political appointees have been part of Beijing’s procedure since 2000.

Reports shared by the analyst indicate that the organization department of the Party Central Committee and the MFA selected twelve diplomats from the party and government organs, state-owned enterprises, and financial institutions for the first time in 2000. Since then such public selections and random appointments have been featured cutting across the MFA in every five years afterward in 2005, 2010, and 2015.

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In recent years, senior officials from other ministries and commissions have also been observed to have joined the MFA. In 2019, Qi Yu, the Vice Minister of the Organization Department, joined the MFA as the Secretary of the party committee. Yu became the first secretary in the MFA’s history that has come from outside of its traditional circle of officers and appointees. Similarly, Zhang Ji, the former Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Commerce and Head of the Discipline Inspection Division of the Central Foreign Affairs Office was transferred to the MFA as the Head of the Discipline Inspection Division. “If you look at these two appointments, they were carried out for strengthening the control of cadres and personnel work in the MFA,” the analyst observed.

Speaking on these unconventional diplomatic deputations, Professor (Dr.) Madhav Das Nalapat, UNESCO Peace Chair and the Director of the School of Geopolitics at Manipal University said that the practice of such public appointments was especially widespread during Mao’s time. “However, President Jinping is obviously not happy with elements of the bureaucracy, hence the changes. Clearly the CCP leadership regards the professional diplomats in the Foreign ministry as unable to sufficiently adapt to and convey the changes in policy and practice initiated by Jinping. Hence the infusion of reliable party cadres into such positions,” Nalapat said.

Meanwhile, research associate of the Centre for China Analysis and Strategy (CCAS) Namrata Hasija claimed that these efforts in the MFA are being done to expand the CPC’s Orwellian reach through the United Front Work Department (UFWD).

“The United Front has more power in the Chinese system than the MFA, and the appointment specifically of UFWD officials to ambassadorial positions in South Asia indicates the seriousness with which China views its foreign policy in the region,” Hasija explained while accentuating the collective and cohesive working of the UFWD to strengthen and expand the party’s control in foreign lands.

“The UFWD aims to influence economists, political and intellectual elites in other countries and is less chary about interfering in their domestic affairs. Expect still greater stress on issues like Belt and Road Initiative, Jinping’s thoughts, and a general undermining of Indian influence in the region,” Hasija said.