Deng Xiaopings "24-Character Strategy"

globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/24-character.htm

Further Reading

Deng Xiaopings "24-Character Strategy" rst emerged in 1990

in response both to the global backlash from the 1989
Tiananmen Square crackdown and to the CCPs sense of alarm
following the collapse of the communist states of Eastern
Europe.49 The strategy provided basic principles on how China
should protect its national interests while increasing its
interactions with the world. The "24-Character Strategy has
been roughly translated as:

"Observe calmly; secure our position; cope with aairs

calmly; hide our capacities and bide our time; be good at
maintaining a low prole; and never claim leadership."

As stated in a 2010 essay posted on an ocial CCP website,

"Hide our capabilities and bide our time, make some
contributions" and related thoughts were put forward by Deng
Xiaoping for the special period of the late 1980s and early
1990s, in the midst of sudden changes in Eastern Europe and
the collapse of the socialist camp. . . . Currently, there are
people in other countries who have produced
misunderstandings and distortions of hide our capabilities and bide our time. These people believe that Chinas
foreign policy strategy has a long-term, undeclared content and purpose:

This is that China believes that its current strength is insucient, and the time has not yet come to announce and
implement this great strategy, and consequently must Hide our capabilities and bide our time, concealing the true
situation and waiting for the right time of opportunity. . . . However, this is . . . a serious misunderstanding and
distortion of the hide our capabilities and bide our time idea stated by Comrade Deng Xiaoping . . . the original idea
of using the expression hide our capabilities and bide our time was the strategy of developing ourselves, and not
at all to seek revenge on others after we have developed."

CCP General Secretary Jiang Zemin continued this policy throughout the 1990s, making it a central tenet of
Chinese foreign policy for more than ten years. The result was that Chinas strategic orientation demonstrate[d]
unusual consistency from the 1980s through the 2000s, with Chinas leaders "insisting on the importance of sticking
to Deng Xiaopings realist legacy."

The phrase tao guang yang hui, keep a low prole was used by Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s as part of a famous
description of Chinas foreign policy. Zhao Qizheng, dean of the School of Journalism of Renmin University of China
and formal head of State Council Information Oce, argues that some foreigners misunderstand the real meaning of
Deng Xiaopings proposal.
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But some foreigners read it as advocating deception about Chinas true strength. Zhao maintains that keep a low
prole is not a trick, but an expression of a particular approach. Yet other scholars point out that in a classical
context, the phrase is used to indicate a strategic ruse. But the key problem is not in which dynasty or in which book
the term rst appeared or whether the ancients used it in reference to strategic trickery. The core is how to
understand the context in which Deng used the term.

Chinese civilization is always developing and the context of the same word or idiom is changing, and our
understanding of an idiom should follow its own development and changes. No matter how scholars of various
dynasties understood the term tao guang yang hui, in the 1990s, Chinese used it to express the meaning of
maintaining a low prole, focusing on developing China.

The Chinese people have traditionally valued enduring humiliation in order to carry out an important task, self-
reliance, hard work and plain living. The Chinese like to believe they arent expansionist, colonial, or imperial, and
dont hit out in all directions to grab and keep territory.

The idiom tao guang yang hui could be translated as to keep a low prole in modern times and it could even be
translated as to be self-eacing. However, it could never be translated as to hide ones ability and pretend to be
weak or hide ones capabilities and bide ones time in a modern context.

After 30 years of reforming and opening-up, China experienced rapid developments in all aspects and grew into the
worlds second largest economy. The building up of national defense began to be modernized and the society is
more diverse. A brief study of the background of Deng's 24-character principle will give people a better understand
as to the meaning of "hide our capacities and bide our time". Deng made the remarks after the drastic changes in
Eastern Europe, when people in foreign countries and in China hoped China to shoulder up the great banner of
socialism.

In the 24-character principle, Deng stressed "never claim leadership". He said China will never claim the leadership,
never seek hegemony, never seek sphere of inuence, never practice group politics, and never interfere with
internal aairs of other countries even if it becomes a strong nation one day. Understanding the sentence
completely, one will see "never claim leadership" is the core of China's strategy for development. Based on the
strategy, the Chinese leaders of new generation set forth the concept to build a harmonious world.

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