Ever since China regained its control of its land and people as an independent nation state, it has followed a foreign policy of wanting to win friends around the world. Every nation state is a friend or potential friend of China. China does not take the position that a country is an enemy. Not even the AngloSaxon anti China countries. This idealistic foreign policy has been pursued relentlessly without exceptions. Good, bad and ugly nation states are all welcomed and treated fairly, generously as equals, as friends.
After more than 70 years of diplomacy under this 'everyone is a friend or potential to be a friend', China must have had enough experience and wisdom gained from the ups and downs of winning friends in the world. China must know by now that there are real friends, genuine friends, fine weather friends, convenient friends and opportunistic friends. And they are also enemies, forever enemies that cannot be won by generosity and kindness. China cannot expect that all countries would want to be friends of China. China must expect some countries that would be permanent enemies of China.
China have wasted a lot of funds and resources courting potential friends and permanent enemies hoping that they would become friends but have been kicked in its asses real hard, betrayed, cheated, and treated as stupid by these ungrateful countries. It is time for China to wake up from its folly that it can win the whole world and be friends to the whole world.
China must be selective and discriminative in its cultivation of friends. Some would be permanent friends, some would be temporary friends, some would never be friends. China can be generous to friends, even temporary friends. But China must stop its silly policies to want to win over countries that would be permanent enemies. The notion that nations have permanent interests, but not permanent friends/enemies may not apply to some countries.
For countries that would be permanent enemies, China should cut losses and stay away from them. If China can have good friends with 70 or 80 per cent of the countries of the world, that would be good enough. The permanent enemies of China can be set aside, and China would not lose anything without them. Continuing to pursue these permanent incorrigible anti China countries would be futile and be seen as naivety, stupid and silly. Just keep them at arm's length. If they want to trade, just trade and nothing more. No need to bend backwards to be nice to them. They will never be friends of China.
By doing so, China also would signal to those temporary friends and temporary enemies that their relations with China depends on how they treat China. China would not be a fool to be taken advantage off, to beg these permanent enemies and temporary enemies to be friends and to throw money and aids to them. Just cut them off permanently for permanent enemies and treat the temporary friends and temporary enemies with caution, without indulging in them foolishly.
China must make a choice between friends and foes and treat them accordingly. The stupid and naive policies of the past must change to deal with the realities of the world. The world cannot be perfect, and goodness be reciprocated with goodness. Many of the permanent enemies should be left on the cold shelf for good.
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