Communist Party of China (CPC) General Secretary Xi Jinping’s speech during a meeting with the press in Beijing yesterday contained a raft of upbeat messages but also some broad hints – for the West in particular.
Xi, who started yesterday his third five-year term at the helm of the world’s largest and one of its oldest political parties, underlined that thanks to four decades of “relentless” reform and opening-up, China “has created the twin miracles of fast economic growth and long-term social stability”.
His choice of words – “twin miracles” – hit the nail on the head. As someone who has lived and worked in China (Hong Kong and Macau) for 40 years, I have witnessed the “twin miracles” first hand. The CPC can take great pride in the “twin miracles” that have lifted 800 million Chinese people out of poverty and transformed China into the world’s number-two economy over the past 40 years.
Realistically, Xi underlined that “just as China cannot develop in isolation from the world, the world needs China for its development.” Of course it does! Unfortunately, there are certain politicians in the US and EU that are babbling about “decoupling” their economies from China because “the Chinese do not share our values”. Well, why should they? China has developed its own value system for over 6,000 years and it is, by the way, completely normal that people in Asia and Africa, for instance, have political, social and cultural values that are rather different from those in the West.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in Brussels last week that “the Chinese system is fundamentally different from ours and we are aware of the nature of the rivalry.” I do agree with her that China’s system is “fundamentally different” to the one in Europe. Of course it is! And one should expect it to be different – as the political systems of, say, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are different from those in the US and EU (I may add that even the political and legal systems of the US and EU are quite different).
On the other hand, I don’t know what von der Leyen’s remark that “and we are aware of the nature of the rivalry” is supposed to mean. A certain degree of rivalry has always existed in international relations, even among the now 27 EU members. The point is to ensure that rivalry doesn’t hamper cooperation. As in the business world and in scientific and technological development, friendly and fair competition is a driver of progress.
Xi is also right when he pointed out that “a prosperous China will create many more opportunities for the world” – including, I may add, for the EU and US.
I quite liked Xi’s insistence on “always pressing forward with self-reform”. The world is in flux and we all – nations, civil societies, businesses, scientists, individuals – need to seek self-improvement to go with the times.
Xi also cautioned that as China is “confronted with new challenges and tests on the journey ahead, we must remain on high alert and stay sober-minded and prudent, like a student sitting for a never-ending exam (emphasis mine). Indeed, politics is like a never-ending exam. Black or grey swan* events can happen at any time.
Xi insisted that “when all countries pursue the cause of common good, we can live in harmony, engage in cooperation for mutual benefit and join hands to create a brighter future.” The ultimate aim, according to Xi, is the creation of “a human community with a shared future.”
Let’s hope that the China threat and yellow peril delusions will be confined to the dustbin of history as soon as possible.
The international community needs ever closer cooperation, irrespective of the world’s 193 UN member nations’ starkly different political systems, in order to be able to tackle the severe problems that the world is facing, such as climate change and energy challenges.
By international community I do mean all nations, not just those in the West or aligned with it.
Considering China’s size in terms of its population, economy and area, global cooperation without China is untenable.
– Harald Brüning
*A grey swan is an event which is known and possible to happen, but assumed not very likely to happen. The term derives from black swan theory, which describes an event which is unlikely but unknown.
