By Zhong Sheng
It is beyond reproach that a country dreams of realizing prosperity and bringing happiness to its people through innovation. However, some politicians, who are still trapped in old ways of thinking and seek to fortify the vested interests of their own country, usually consider emerging innovative countries as threats.
Trying every means to contain and hinder the development of emerging innovative countries, these politicians arbitrarily conjecture about the aspirations and endeavors of the emerging innovative countries, and assume that they intend to pursue hegemonic control when they simply want to make economic progress.
While more and more people in the international community believe that China is a powerhouse of innovation, some bigoted U.S. politicians, who have been obsessed with fabricating threats in total disregard of facts, jumped out recklessly and made some irresponsible remarks about China.
History usually advances along with the conflicts between justice and injustice, and repeatedly proves that justice always prevails.
The Chinese dream, a great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, is by no means a dream of seeking hegemony, said Chinese President Xi Jinping at the 2019 New Economy Forum recently held in Beijing.
Xi noted that China does not intend to replace any power, rather, its aim is to “restore the dignity and status it deserves.”
The People’s Republic of China has made remarkable achievements since it was founded in 1949, yet it has never become arrogant in any way. Instead, the country has always been an exponent of harmony in diversity, following the path of peaceful development and striving for win-win cooperation with the rest of the world.
Some people in the U.S. are too narrow-minded to understand why the Chinese dream is never hegemonistic and too ignorant to realize that the Chinese people will never allow anyone to apply hegemony in China. No external force can stop China from growing and developing, which is an irreversible trend.
It is no use preventing the cross-border flow of creativity, as pointed out by Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator at the Financial Times.
According to Wolf, it would have been much more difficult, or even impossible, for Europe to march forward starting from the 15th century if the Four Great Inventions from the ancient China hadn’t been introduced to the West.
U.S. opposition will not prevent the continued expansion of the Chinese economy and the U.S. cannot significantly slow China’s rise without damaging itself, as many American experts wrote in an open letter to the U.S. government several months ago.
Discussions on China-U.S. relations, especially China-U.S. economic and trade relations, at the 2019 New Economy Forum have inspired people to think about how the two major powers of innovation could exist in harmony.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has helped China and U.S. break the ice at the very beginning and has visited China nearly a hundred times in the past 50 years, believes that China and the U.S. stand to gain from cooperation.
China-U.S. relationship is very special and has a strong influence on both countries and the entire world, said Kissinger, adding that only through cooperation can the two countries promote the sound development of the international order.
Kissinger thinks that China and the U.S., as the world’s two largest economies, “are bound to step on each other’s toes”, yet they should resolve such concerns though cooperation instead of confrontation.
Henry Paulson, former U.S. Treasury Secretary, pointed out that the U.S. is threatening to decouple China from the U.S. market and many military ideas such as zero-sum thinking have been added into economic policies, which will alter global business and economic framework and invite more risks to both sides and the world.
Innovation should benefit the world rather than being encaved, Xi noted. His insightful remarks showed the gesture of a responsible major country.
Innovation should not be limited by borders and any country that tries to declare a Tech Cold War and impose restrictions on trade and economy is bucking the historical trend and will only harm both itself and others.
Whoever holds an open attitude will lead quickly and those who isolate themselves tend to fall behind, said Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, emphasizing the importance of innovation and cooperation at the forum.
Participants of the event also called on countries to work together and deal with global challenges through innovation and technological breakthroughs, hoping that various parties could realize that human beings share a common destiny and then make rational choices.
China will do well only when the world does well, and vice versa. The Chinese people are well aware of what they have, what they want and are prepared to work hard for it.
China will remain proactive, stable, calm and cautious in each step ahead while exploring the development path, taking into account the immediate and long-term situations and ensuring the steps taken are plausible.
During the economic and trade consultations with the U.S. side, the Chinese delegation has said repeatedly that properly handling the China-U.S. trade relationship is good for China, for the United States, and also for peace and prosperity of the world. China hopes to realize such aspirations through great efforts.
The Chinese dream is closely related to the beautiful dreams of all countries in the world. People from various countries have the right to pursue a better life and should jointly open up a brighter future.
It is universally acknowledged that China has unswervingly worked with global partners to build a community with a shared future for mankind, becoming a positive force in response to the call of the times and conforming to the general trend of the world.
(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People’s Daily to express its views on foreign policy.)