The Chinese narrative of human rights politicization

Human rights have always been politicized, but the geopolitical confrontation between China and some Western countries has brought a special sense of urgency to the topic of human rights politicization. This chapter relates to the theme of narratives as power struggles around actors’ attempts to have their account of the world be taken for granted. Indeed, it will illustrate how, through the narrative of human rights politicization, China imposes the vision that not only is politicization negative (which the EU also shares), but more specifically that politicization aims to contain China's rise and therefore is detrimental to its interests. The three case studies I will explore demonstrate that in fact China has also benefitted from politicization. While the assumption in much of the literature is that narratives and interests are aligned, this chapter shows that China's imposition of the idea that politicization is negative does not align with its own interests.

This argument starts from the standpoint that China's politicization narrative has become a key aspect of its human rights narrative, which fully participates in Beijing's challenge to the liberal world order. Authors have analysed what the government has coined ‘human rights with Chinese characteristics’ (Fung, 2019; Worden, 2019; Foot, 2020; Richardson, 2020). As explained by Chen, the meaning of this concept varies according to the agenda and interpretation being prioritized by the Chinese leadership at any given time, but distinctive aspects of China's human rights narrative can still be identified (Chen, 2018). First, China emphasizes economic, social and cultural rights, as well as the rights to subsistence and development.