In a political scene replete with historical ironies, US President Donald Trump recently revived the phrase “paper tiger,” famously used by Chinese leader Mao Zedong, to describe Russia
This comes amid his frustration with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, and his stalling on ending the war with Ukraine
What is the secret of this phrase
However, this phrase is not new. Mao Zedong first used it in a 1946 interview with American journalist Anna Louise Strong, to describe the American atomic bomb as a mere means of intimidating people
This phrase later became part of the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda rhetoric. It came to be used to describe Western imperialism, especially the United States, after Mao famously said, “All reactionaries are paper tigers.”
Disappeared and then came back again
The Chinese writer Lao She also used the phrase to describe US forces during the Korean War, and it later became a “sharp intellectual weapon” in the hands of party theorists, who viewed it as an expression of Mao’s “strategic thought.”
However, as Sino-American relations improved in the 1970s, its use declined, before reappearing in recent years with the escalation of trade and political tensions between Beijing and Washington.
Last April, during the tariff war,the Chinese foreign ministry published a quote by Mao from 1964 that read: “America intimidates some countries and prevents them from doing business with us… but it is just a paper tiger. Don’t believe its threats… one push, and it will explode
Before Trump used it again against Russia a few days ago, the phrase “paper tiger” had begun to creep into American discourse. Last February, journalist Eugene Robinson wrote in the Washington Post that Trump’s foreign policy resembled a “paper tiger.”
Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Tribe described Trump as a “paper tiger” last May in an attempt to reassure international students about his policies.
Something to watch
For his part, Chinese historian John Delury said, “As a Chinese historian, I couldn’t help but laugh at the irony of Trump using one of Mao Zedong’s favorite phrases, describing Russia as a paper tiger
He added, “Mao said that about the United States at a time when it had a growing nuclear arsenal, while China had not yet become a nuclear power… How times have changed.” He continued, “Now, the leaders of the United States and Russia are trading accusations, while Chinese leader Xi Jinping sits by, as if he were the only adult in the room.”
Last week, Trump described Russia as a “paper tiger,” criticizing its military performance in Ukraine.
The Russian president responded, “We are fighting against the entire NATO bloc, and we are confidently advancing. If we are a paper tiger? What is NATO then?” He added defiantly, “Come on, deal with this paper tiger
