Xi’s Nationalism Faces Reckoning After Killing Japanese Child

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(Bloomberg) — President Xi Jinping has overseen a surge in Chinese nationalism to boost his government’s popularity as tensions have simmered with rivals. Now, the killing of a Japanese boy shows the dangers of that tactic.

Chinese authorities have declined to comment on a motive for an attack on a 10-year-old boy who was stabbed this week near a Japanese school in Shenzhen.

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Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said he was “saddened” by the killing, insisting it was an “individual case” at a regular press conference Thursday in Beijing. “China will continue to take effective measures to protect all foreign nationals,” he said.

Earlier this month, Chinese authorities also described a knife attack on a Japanese woman and child, as well as the stabbing of four teachers from a US college, as “isolated” incidents.

But the date of this week’s tragedy stood out: It fell on the sensitive anniversary of the event that triggered the entry of Japan in China – now called National Defense Education Day, when sirens sounded in the cities of the world’s 2nd economy.

The ruling Communist Party has legitimized its policies in recent years by promoting a strong China on the world stage, often fueling hostility toward the US and its allies including Japan. With widespread disgruntlement over the nation’s economic slowdown, the government is now grappling with online hatred spilling over into real-life violence.

“The Chinese authorities have always normalized nationalism as the ‘correct’ way of understanding the world,” said Florian Schneider, chair professor of modern China at Leiden University. “What citizens do with that understanding is independent of individual leaders — and it can backfire, sometimes spectacularly.”

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On social media, some criticized the government, reflecting a more moderate slice of society. “Who allows hateful comments online?” one person asked at the Japanese Embassy in China’s post about attacks on Weibo like X. “The education of hatred has achieved extraordinary results,” read another top-voted comment.

While nationalism may be the catalyst for the new unrest, Schneider warns “the roots may be deeper, linked to broader social and economic anxieties.”

China’s property slump has wiped $18 trillion of wealth from households, according to Barclays Plc calculations, and prompted pay cuts and layoffs as the country struggles with its longest deflation in decades. Earlier this year, Chinese social media users linked economic pressures to violence in a country where such attacks are rare.

The public crackdown on foreigners has undermined Beijing’s aim to attract overseas business at a time of sluggish investment, as well as efforts to attract tourists after years of pandemic isolation. Almost half of the Japanese companies in China poll recently said they will not spend more or will cut investment this year – citing rising wages, falling prices and geopolitical tensions.

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“The incident of knifing can be an additional concern to add to the problem,” said Lim Tai Wei, senior adjunct researcher at the National University of Singapore East Asian Institute.

Some of Japan’s biggest companies and banks have called for protection for their employees in China, with Toyota Motor Corp. warning staff to be vigilant under embassy guidelines.

Generations of Chinese citizens have grown up under the influence of hostile propaganda against Japan. Beijing claims Tokyo has not apologized enough for war atrocities and is involved in territorial spats with Japan over disputed islands in the East China Sea. Tensions are rising as Asia’s largest economies compete on various commercial fronts, and Tokyo forges closer military and trade ties with the US.

Beijing further fueled anti-Japan sentiment last year by objecting to Tokyo’s plans to release treated water from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant, and banning all seafood from its neighbours. The decision contradicted the International Atomic Energy Agency’s assessment that the move would have an unacceptable impact on the environment.

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Highlighting the growing antagonism, a Chinese influencer recently posted a video of himself vandalizing the war-torn Yasukuni Shrine, linked to Japan’s history of military aggression. The move sparked criticism on Chinese social media, where some railed against the extreme display of nationalism.

A viral Wechat article titled “I Still Feed Sad For That Japanese Boy” also questions the anti-Japanese rhetoric that has become mainstream over the past decade.

“Voices in favor of friendly exchanges between China and Japan have been gradually marginalized, or even purged online,” the author wrote in a post that had more than 4,000 likes on Thursday evening.

The narrative “will eventually spread offline and have an impact in the real world,” the authors wrote. The article was later censored “for being offensive.”

This is a risk that the country’s leaders can understand.

Beijing has reined in its “Wolf Warrior” diplomats, and is trying to stabilize relations with the US through a flurry of high-level diplomatic talks. After stabbing a Japanese woman and child in June, Chinese authorities gave a bus attendant who sacrificed her life to save her a hero’s award, praising her efforts to help foreigners.

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The extent of the challenge to move this sentiment was exemplified this week when the World Table Tennis group was attacked by Chinese fans for choosing to sell tickets for an event in Fukuoka – a city in Japan – on the same date that triggered the invasion of Tokyo in China. In the end, the committee conceded.

“The Communist Party has built nationalism as a form of legitimacy, but it’s like riding a target,” said Geoff Raby, Australia’s former ambassador to China. “It cannot be controlled by its own interest.”

—With assistance from Dan Murtaugh, Colum Murphy and Josh Xiao.

(Update with details of Japanese company requesting protection of staff in China.)

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