India, Nov. 2 -- The Chinese government has perfected the art of having it both ways. It is at once the world's second-largest economy and a self-styled "developing country", a lender and aid recipient, aggressor and victim, socialist crusader and capitalist opportunist. This identity duality is not accidental-it is the foundation of Beijing's global strategy, a deliberate balancing act that allows it to extract benefits from every system it touches while avoiding the obligations of full membership in the rules-based international order. When Beijing wants climate indulgence, it claims to be a developing nation still climbing out of poverty. When it seeks geopolitical influence, it insists on the privileges of a great power. When criticiz...