Source: China News Network
Yuan Yue: Are differences in values a decisive factor in influencing Sino-US relations?
China News Service, Beijing, October 18 Title: Is the difference in values a decisive factor affecting Sino-US relations?
——Interview with Yuan Yue, a Yale World Scholar and Chairman of Zero Points
Author Liu Likun
Recently, Yang Jiechi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, and Sullivan, assistant to the US President for National Security Affairs, met in Zurich, Switzerland, and the two sides had a comprehensive, frank, and in-depth exchange of views on Sino-US relations and international and regional issues of common concern. During the talks, the two sides agreed to take action to implement the spirit of the september 10 call between the two heads of state and make joint efforts to push China-US relations back to the right track of healthy and stable development.
In recent years, there has been constant friction between China and the United States. Yuan Yue, chairman of Zero Points, said in an exclusive interview with China News Agency's "East and West Question" that although there are differences in values, it is precisely because of this that China and the United States need dialogue, coordination, and make good use of the complementary advantages generated by differences to contribute to the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind.
Data map: The flags of China and the United States are hoisted in front of Tiananmen Square in Beijing. China News Service reporter Jia Tianyong photographed
The resurgence of "values diplomacy"
"Values diplomacy" is not a new concept. As early as the establishment of the Soviet Union, the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the rebalancing of Asia, and the proposal of the Indo-Pacific strategy, this diplomatic means of formulating foreign policies according to ideology and political systems, and then affecting the values of the people of other countries, has appeared, and once led to tensions between some countries.
"In recent years, similar diplomatic propositions have emerged again in the leadership of some Western countries." Yuan Yue said that according to public opinion surveys in European and American countries, the overall favorability of the people in Europe and the United States towards China has dropped significantly in recent years, and one of the important reasons is the "expectation and frustration" psychology of Western politicians, media, and academic elites in the process of China's development.
"However, if we compare the feelings of the people of China and the United States, in terms of recognizing the direction of their own development, recognizing the improvement of quality of life, recognizing the public management system and public services, and their confidence in the development of themselves and the whole society, the data of the past 20 years show that the satisfaction of ordinary Chinese people with the opportunities to optimize their quality of life, public services and the quality of social services is very stable." Yuan Yue said.
Yuan Yue said that China has achieved economic growth for many years, enhanced the competitiveness of national development with a comprehensive and sustained optimization of the business environment, tested the service awareness of officials with citizen satisfaction, and restrained expansion-oriented capital giants with anti-monopoly measures to effectively create the vitality of sustainable economic development.
"Without differences in core values, Western countries and their people may not have had too much sense of crisis about China's rapid development."
Infographic: A port. (Drone photo) Photo by Zhang Zhengrong
A rational balance between countries
However, values and their differences are not the only determinants of the orientation of state-to-state diplomatic relations. "The cause of World War I was not a difference in values, and Britain and the United States could also fight alongside the Soviet Union during World War II." Yuan Yue said that this can also be seen in today's international foreign affairs.
The American scholar Frederick Watkins mentions in his new book, "The Western Political Tradition: The Development of Modern Liberalism", that the concept of "justice" teaches people to measure the equal rights of others, thereby constraining their own demands, so that rational people can seek common ground while reserving differences. The function of the state is to seek a rational balance among the forces of eternal opposition in order to achieve the purpose of "justice."
Looking at the whole world, peaceful coexistence and equal treatment should be the universally recognized law of exchanges between countries. All countries jointly address global issues, jointly enjoy the rights conferred by international laws and regulations, and fulfill their obligations. However, in reality, the global situation is complex and changeable, and frictions between countries are constant. In Yuan Yue's view, the reason for this is that some countries put their own interests above this law, and the United States is the most prominent example.
In 1922, the British scholar Bertrand Russell wrote in his book "The China Question" that if other countries violate American interests or deviate from the prejudices held by the United States, whether they uphold the principle of open freedom or the spirit of humanitarianism, it will not help. Yuan Yue believes that for many years the United States has become accustomed to taking "America first" as the most important principle in its dealings with other countries.
For example, he said, both China and the United States emphasize that countries should "uphold the rules of international law," but the two approaches are very different. China has always emphasized multilateral international rules with the United Nations at its core, agreements and joint declarations reached by all parties in regional international organizations, and treaty and rule declarations in bilateral international relations.
"A country's role in diplomacy should not be differentiated by its level of power. China is not a breaker of international rules, but a defender. "The United States regards the rules agreed upon with its allies as part of the rules of international law it deems; and the rules set forth in international organizations and agreements that it has not joined also present itself as the interpreter and promoter of the rules, acting as the 'world policeman', which is an out-and-out 'double standard' act." ”
Infographic: The flags of China and the United States. Image source: Visual China
Seeking the "Unity" of Historical Progress from "Conflict"
Due to the clarity of the multipolarization process of the world pattern and the needs of its own development, China has gradually transformed the original "defensive" strategy into a "proactive" strategy. With the rise of China, in recent years, the "China threat theory" has also begun to circulate in a few Western countries, but Yuan Yue does not agree with this statement.
Yuan Yue said: "In fact, China is looking for a basis within the established international law framework of existing major issues and using existing rules to defend its own interests, but the way of defending it is clearer and more direct than that of other countries."
The French political commentator and economist Pierre-Joseph Proudhon once said that "conflict" is a tool for historical progress, and the goal of history is to seek the ultimate "union". This relationship applies not only to States and individuals, but also to relations between States and associated organizations.
According to Proudhon, the purpose of history is to skillfully deal with the differences between individuals and groups whose interests and functions are increasingly differentiated, so that each of these different factors can make the greatest contribution to the increasingly complex social life.
The adjustment of the pattern of international exchange behavior is precisely the adaptive challenge that China has brought to the United States. Yuan Yue said that China's diplomatic, trade strategy and security propositions have also changed, and they need to match the economic, technological and security interests of development, and then there are more claims to be expressed, and the boundaries of interests and interest protection measures must also be affirmed.
"Differences in values are not necessarily a bad thing. Many people think that Sino-US friction is inevitable, and there will be many specific competition scenarios, but this is not the case. Yuan Yue said that societies dominated by different values are an important part of the "global village" and can contribute to the construction of a "community with a shared future for mankind". Countries should complement each other through differences and increase opportunities for engagement, communication and dialogue on the premise of mutual respect.
In Yuan Yue's view, China's attempt to break through the long-term compression of the development space of global developing countries is not only related to China's interests, but also related to the interests of emerging economies and global developing countries, and even many developed countries, which will also be the direction of global future development trends. "Many Western countries may not be suitable for China's anti-epidemic model, and China's soil is not suitable for the growth of Western political operation mechanisms." However, whether it is climate change, nuclear proliferation, or helping the global fight against the epidemic, poverty alleviation and development, or even ensuring global network security and military security, all countries need to work together. Yuan Yue said that it is precisely because of different values that countries need more dialogue, coordination, and healthy rules of interaction. (End)
Respondent Profiles:
Victor Yuan, Chairman of Zero Points, Co-Founder of Pegasus Brigade, Chairman of Black Apple Youth YES, Yale World Scholar, American Aspen Scholar, Chicago Global Affairs Committee Schuler Scholar, Executive Director of the European and American Returned Scholars Association, independent media person.