China's defiance of any norms and blithe, there is no other word for it—lying—as it pursues its goals is one of the major facts of life in the world today. But there is a history of Chinese arrogance.
For 100 years, from the Chinese/Mongol attempts to conquer Japan in 1274 and 1281 to the demands of the founder of the Ming Dynasty from 1369 to 1382 that Japan pay tribute:
...The threat of military force was evident in Ming China’s effort to bring Japan into the tribute system. Japan’s Prince Kanenaga imprisoned and executed a number of the Chinese envoys that Emperor Hongwu had sent in 1369 to demand tribute, apparently angered at the condescending tone of the diplomatic letter denoting Chinese superiority. When the Ming court threatened invasion, the Japanese reminded it of the Mongols’ failed attempts in 1281 to conquer Japan. A letter Kanenaga sent in 1382 explicitly denied the legitimacy of Chinese dominance: ‘Now the world is the world’s world; it does not belong to a single ruler … . I hear that China has troops able to fight a war, but my small country also has plans of defence … . How could we kneel to and acknowledge Chinese overlordship!’88 ...
—Oxford Journals' Chinese Journal of International Politics, Summer 2012
To put it more bluntly, the practice of pretending and paying tribute is stupid. Or, as a somewhat out-of-favor writer put it, regarding the Viking raids on England:
....It is always a temptation for a rich and lazy nation,
To puff and look important and to say: –
"Though we know we should defeat you,
we have not the time to meet you.
And that is called paying the Dane-geld;
That if once you have paid him the Dane-geld
And the headline story from the BBC, May
China emits more greenhouse gas than the entire developed world combined, a new report has claimed.
The research by Rhodium Group says China emitted 27% of the world's greenhouse gases in 2019.
The US was the second-largest emitter at 11% while India was third with 6.6% of emissions, the think tank said.
Scientists warn that without an agreement between the US and China it will be hard to avert dangerous climate change.
China's emissions more than tripled over the previous three decades, the report from the US-based Rhodium Group added.
The Asian giant has the world's largest population, so its per person emissions are still far behind the US, but the research said those emissions have increased too, tripling over the course of two decades.
China has vowed to reach net-zero emissions by 2060 with a peak no later than 2030.
President Xi Jinping reiterated his pledge at a climate summit organised by US President Joe Biden last month.
"This major strategic decision is made based on our sense of responsibility to build a community with a shared future for mankind and our own need to secure sustainable development," President Xi said at the time....
....MUCH MORE
Recently:
China Says It Plans To Peak CO2 Emissions In 2030
Always minding the gap between word and deed
"China has ‘no other choice’ but to rely on coal power for now, official says"
