China’s nuclear assertiveness reflects rejection of former leader Jiang’s ‘peaceful rise’ narrative: Report

Brussels, June 29 China’s evolution from former President Jiang Zemin’s message of peaceful narrative to the current leadership, Xi Jinping’s nuclear assertiveness, reflects not just a policy shift but a rejection of the principles Jiang articulated in Tokyo during his 1998 State Visit to Japan. The promise of a “peaceful rise” has given way to a strategy centred on “deterrence and dominance”. For Asia and the wider world, the message is clear: Beijing’s rhetoric cannot be accepted at face value when its actions increasingly point towards hegemony, a report has stated. “In November 1998, Jiang Zemin stood before students at…