The New Chinese Diplomacy

"Chinese diplomacy at this meeting [Copenhagen] overall was somewhat puzzling. Second-level Chinese officials showed up at critical meetings of heads of state on Friday afternoon—the kind of clumsy tactic that Beijing is usually far too smart to employ. The open dissent at the Friday-evening meeting—including having one member of Wen's delegation shout and wag his finger at President Obama—suggests that Wen had lost control over his own negotiating team. (Wen told the translator not to translate this official's initial outburst and then simply ignored him the second time he raised his voice.) Was Wen going beyond the limits of his negotiating authority? Were members of his negotiating team protecting their personal flanks back in Beijing?"

Whatever the explanation, Beijing's behavior was novel. The Chinese government is usually obsessed with protocol, and would never before have treated a head of state like Obama, who outranks Wen, so cavalierly.

Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek, 15-Jan-2010