Wang Yi, one of the world’s most experienced foreign ministers, gave last week’s Munich Security Conference (MSC) a healthy dose of pragmatic and erudite advice on how to handle international relations.
And, incidentally, he also promoted China’s brand-new DeepSeek chatbot, which was released to the amazement of the whole world just about a month ago to much acclaim. Of course, I am already its regular user, alongside Quora’s Poe chatbot which, no surprise, includes DeepSeek.
DeepSeek is another sign that China has reached the top development level of artificial intelligence (AI) alongside the United States and, unsurprisingly, lightyears ahead of the European Union (EU) which, instead of developing its own AI industry, seems to be focused on criticising, monitoring and regulating AI providers from outside the 27-nation bloc. Well, the point is that the EU is run by bureaucrats who, and that’s a global phenomenon, love to uber-regulate existing industries rather than to create new ones – the former is easier than the latter. The problem is that it stymies technological progress.
After his speech on Saturday at the 61st MSC, in an on-stage conversation with German diplomat Christoph Heusgen, who chairs the MSC, Wang quoted two Chinese proverbs that he admitted were difficult to translate into other languages. With a twinkle in his eyes, Wang suggested that the international audience turn to DeepSeek to check it out.
2 quotes
Aiming to illustrate China’s determination to defend its national sovereignty and development rights, Wang quoted a phrase from the ancient classic Book of Changes (I Ching) which was published in the late 9th century BCE. According to DeepSeek, the phrase means “As Heaven moves with vigour and strength, the noble person strives tirelessly to strengthen themselves”. An alternative translation is provided by the Pekingnology website*: “As Heaven maintains its vigour through movement, a man of virtue constantly strives for self-perfection.” Essentially, the phrase urges all of us to emulate the ceaseless and vigorous movement of Heaven by continuously improving ourselves and cultivating virtue.
And Wang, known for his erudition, also quoted late Hong Kong journalist, publisher and writer Louis Cha Leung-yung (1924-2018), widely known by his pen name Jin Yong, who advised humanity in his seminal “The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre”, which was published in the early 1960s, to remain unperturbed in the face of external challenges, much like the gentle breeze or the bright moon, resonating with the Daoist concept of “wu wei”, i.e., effortless action, and the Buddhist concept of equanimity. Alternatively, the phrase has been translated by the Pekingnology website as “Let the strong do as they will; we remain as unperturbed as the gentle breeze caresses the hills. Let the fears act as they may; we maintain our poise as the bright moon illuminates the river.”
I had the pleasure to meet Louis Cha, then still a co-publisher of Hong Kong’s respected Ming Pao daily, at a media forum in Hong Kong in the late 1980s. As a then still relatively young journalist I was impressed by his outstanding demeanour combining humbleness and sagacity.
In his keynote speech**, headlined “A Steadfast Constructive Force in a Changing World” in the Bavarian capital, Wang reaffirmed that a multipolar world is not only a historical inevitability but it is also becoming a reality. He said China’s answer to the world’s “increasing mix of turbulence and transformation” is that “we should work for an equal and orderly multipolar world”. He underlined that “this is another major proposition put forward by President Xi Jinping, and it represents our sincere expectation for a multipolar world.
“China will surely be a factor of certainty in this multipolar system, and strive to be a steadfast constructive force in a changing world.”
4 points
Wang raised four realistic and pragmatic (that’s music to my ears) points to tackle the increasingly turbulent state of international relations: 1) Advocating equal treatment among the world’s 193 UN member states; “equal rights, equal opportunities and equal rules should become the basic principles of a multipolar world.” 2) Respecting the international rule of law. “As an old Chinese saying goes, circles and squares cannot be drawn without compasses and rules, which means nothing can be accomplished without following norms and standard,” Wang stressed, adding that “without norms and standards, one may be at the table yesterday but end up on the menu tomorrow”. 3) Practising multilateralism; Wang stressed that “in the face of emerging global challenges, no country can stay unaffected and the ‘we first’ approach in international relations only leads to a lose-lose result.” 4) Pursuing openness and mutual benefit. “Protectionism offers no way out, and arbitrary tariffs produce no winners. Decoupling deprives one of opportunities, and a ‘small yard with high fences’ only ends up constraining oneself”. Let’s hope that Donald Trump, Ursula von der Leyen et al. in Washington, Brussels and elsewhere take note.
At the conclusion of his speech, Wang also reaffirmed China long-held stance that China and the EU are partners, not rivals, reminding his audience of politicians, diplomats and scholars that this year marks the 50th anniversary of China-EU diplomatic relations.
It is my hope, as an EU citizen in Macau-China, that political, economic, scientific and cultural relations between China and the EU will further develop, benefiting both equally. Mutual benefits are what drives a partnership to be sustainable in the long term.
Feeling the chills
In his post-speech conversation with Ambassador Heusgen, Wang pointed out, quite diplomatically, without mentioning the obvious culprit, that “now there is a country that is withdrawing from international treaties and organisations, and I think in Europe you can feel the chills every day.”
The chills worsened virtually by the minute during US Vice-President JD Vance’s speech at the conference in which he lambasted European politicians for their perceived shortcomings such as on the migration front, telling them that the biggest threat to their security was “from within”, rather than from foreign countries.
European politicians attending the conference were visibly taken aback by Vance’s blistering speech, indicating a growing rift between the Trump administration and western Europe which has been in an underling-like relationship with the US for over seven decades. Perhaps, but only perhaps, Trump’s attitude towards the “Old Continent” will finally shake up European leaders to get their act together by finally cutting their politico-military umbilical cord with Washington.
Instead of merely expressing their fury that Trump, obviously, is intent on keeping them out of peace talks with Russia over the Ukraine conflict, EU politicians should ask themselves why, for the past three years, they have failed to come up with their own peace initiative, unlike the “Friends of Peace” group launched by China and Brazil at the United Nations in New York last September in response to the Ukraine crisis. Now EU politicians are in a tight spot, apart from the fact that they could have avoided the Ukraine crisis long ago by refraining from NATO’s eastern expansion which, launched a quarter of a century ago, blithely ignored the Russian Federation’s legitimate security interests. That’s how it all started.
In his post-speech conversation, Wang also said that safeguarding the UN-centred international system by observing the basic norms governing international relations, based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, “is the biggest common denominator” to avoid double standards in international relations. He also stressed the importance of President Xi’s vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity. “It is a very grand vision, and we hope to see that all countries will rise above the differences in history, culture, systems, and ideologies and work in solidarity to protect this planet,” Wang said, adding that “this is a reflection of the international vision of the Communist Party of China [and] it is also a reflection of the fine traditional Chinese culture of thinking for the greater good.”
Concerning the China-Russia relationship, Wang said it continued to be based on the principles of “no alliance, no confrontation, no targeting any third country, [and] based on our mutual trust, we build a comprehensive strategic partnership.”
Pragmatically, Wang also said that China could not stop buying gas from Russia, as demanded by the West in the wake of the Ukraine conflict, for a simple reason, “Which country can provide so much gas as to meet the needs of the Chinese people? It’s not possible, and it’s not safe because you know some countries tend to politicise economic and trade issues and treat them as a tool to suppress China. We cannot let that happen. We must be responsible to our people.”
Regarding China-US ties, Wang said that China’s policy towards Washington “is consistent and stable,” based on the three principles put forward by President Xi: mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation… the right approach is to respect each other.” Asked about the state of China-US ties, the world’s most important bilateral relationship by a long chalk, Wang quoted the two literary phrases mentioned at the beginning of my editorial – and he added that “no matter which way the wind blows – north, south, east, or west – we will remain calm and unshakable.”
Despite all the difficulties that China-US ties are currently facing, Wang said that “all in all, we are fully confident about the prospects of the world and we are fully confident about the future of China-US relations.”
Common sense is, in my view, the best way for both countries get their relationship back on track. The crux of the problem is, of course, that common sense among in politics is not that common as one would expect, at least periodically (well, there is always, according to German Marxist philosopher Ernst Bloch (1885-1977), the principle of hope….
On the margins of the two-day conference, Wang met in a diplomatic marathon with a multitude of senior politicians from a wide range of countries to discuss bilateral and international matters, including EU foreign affairs and security commissioner Kaja Kallas, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who vowed to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with China; Friedrich Merz, who is widely forecast to become Germany’s next chancellor after Sunday’s general election; Argentine Foreign Minister Gerardo Wertheim, who thanked China for supporting his country in safeguarding its sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands; NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte (Wang urged the military alliance dominated by the US to pursue a “positive and responsible” policy towards China); Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar (Wang said that China expects the Gaza ceasefire agreement to be effectively implemented); Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha (Wang said that China expects a fair, lasting and binding peace agreement for the Ukraine crisis and pointed out that China has been Ukraine’s top trading partner in recent years); and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who also promised to strengthen ties with China, among many others.
Another tour de force both physically and mentally. For that alone, Wang deserves our admiration.
– Harald Brüning
*Transcript by Wang Zichen; https://www.pekingnology.com/p/wang-yi-at-munich-security-conference
** https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/xw/zyjh/202502/t20250215_11555665.html
