<div>For China watchers, these are interesting times. A change in the leadership of the Communist Party has prompted most to start looking for signs that will usher in political and economic shift in the world’s second-biggest economy. And Xi Jingping, the new party secretary who will take over as the country’s president in March, has not disappointed them.<br /><br /> <br />Not only is China flexing its political muscle in its dispute with Japan over a bunch of islands, Xi is signaling a shift towards more economic reforms as he ostensibly takes on powerful state firms and Chinese companies aggressively seek cheap takeover deals in the Western world where distraught businesses are up for sale.<br /><br /> <br />For a nation with $3 trillion in its kitty at a time when most of the Western world is struggling to make ends meet, China’s confident swagger is understood, but obviously not appreciated. So, what’s Xi been up to in his first month as party secretary? A lot.<br /><br /> <br />After becoming party secretary, the new leader’s first out-of-town foray to Guangdong, the fountain of China’s industrial and economic reforms launched by paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, was a signal that he was pushing for more. Xi has also come out strongly against corruption – an ailment that has become deep-rooted in China’s government and society – and under his month-long watch more officials are under scrutiny for dishonesty. Whistle blowers are in and Internet portals are happily lifting the lids off the private lives of government officers. Financial impropriety is banned and sexual peccadillos unacceptable.<br /><br /> <br />But an internal, difficult and welcome shakeup of the system also has a flip side. While Xi is pushing reforms at home, there is little sign of China changing its vision of expanding its economic and political influence overseas; this despite Xi’s recent statement that no country can go alone in today’s world. If there are signals that China is working hard to change internally and make party officials more responsible, there are also strong indications that Xi would want to play the nationalism card and get China to assert itself on the global stage as he consolidates power.<br /><br /> <br />In recent weeks, China has unveiled its retrofitted aircraft carrier, issued new passports that show disputed territories as its own and sent a surveillance plane over islands that both Beijing and Japan claim. This foreign policy assertiveness follows China’s decision to send warships to South China Sea a few months ago to contest territorial rights with smaller countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines. Beijing’s muscle pushing in South Asia has also not gone unnoticed.<br /><br /> <br />On the economic front, the wallets are out. Chinese state companies are using their pile of cash to aggressively sink their teeth in Western assets that Beijing needs to secure its future in energy and other industries.<br /><br /> <br />China’s military bullying is scaring its neighbours; its economic expansion the rest of the world. A confident Xi – who disappeared from public for several days just before the Communist Party’s conference in November – seems to be on a roll, as the domestic economy begins to turn the corner and confidence returns in the government to take solid steps to push hard financial reforms.<br /><br /> <br />The buying spree has caught some speed and is likely to accelerate in 2013 as Xi and the new Politburo settle down to manage the world’s most populous nation that needs to restructure its economy to sustain high economic growth in a fast changing world.<br /><br /><br />In recent days, Chinese investors have struck a deal to take a controlling stake worth $4.2 billion in American International Group’s aircraft leasing business. More importantly, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) received Canada’s green signal to acquire an energy company called Nexen for $15 billion. Nexen also has oil and gas fields in the United States and the U.K., both of which will now be available to CNOOC.<br /><br />These are big-ticket deals that are possible because China’s state-owned companies have the backing from government banks, which offer subsidised loans. Recent reports also suggest that the Chinese companies have become smarter at managing and mitigating opposition in Western countries where they are seen as national security threats. The perception game is being played better by Chinese firms than before. For example, they are beginning to target non-iconic brands and spreading into sectors other than natural resources and financial services. They are also happier taking minority shareholding.<br /><br />These subtle changes in takeover strategy will help Chinese firms not only to redefine and learn new market tactics, but probably also become more acceptable to the West that fears domination by a country that will become the world’s biggest economy in the foreseeable future.<br /><br />In the meantime, as Xi settles in and puts his team together, expect a larger dose of nationalism sprouting from China as the West fights its battles and Beijing rushes in to use the economic uncertainty to continue flexing its political muscles.<br /><br />(<em>The columnist is president, public affairs, Genesis Burson-Marsteller and a former newspaper editor. He has a deep interest in matters related to China and Southeast Asia</em>)<br /><br /> </div>