The Chinese people have made a huge gain in the past 70 years - a visit to Shi Wen, a senior researcher at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in the United States

【70 Years: The World Looks at China】

Guangming Daily correspondent in Washington, Tang Xianying

Dr. Sven is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and one of the most renowned U.S. experts in the analysis of China's security issues. Recently, at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C., Shi Wen was interviewed by a Guangming Daily reporter in his office full of books and Chinese elements, telling about the 70 years of great changes in China in the eyes of his "China tong".

Shi Wen's relationship with China began in Hong Kong. In the 1960s, because his father worked in Hong Kong, Steven spent two years of high school in Hong Kong, and life was exciting and enjoyable. With this experience, after returning to the United States, Shi Wen began to study Chinese and China-related courses, and went to Taiwan to learn Chinese for two years. After that, Shi Wen entered Harvard University and received a doctorate in political science, specializing in Asian and Chinese studies. After postdoctoral research at the Center for China Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, Steven spent two years working for a trading company run by a Chinese Shanghai businessman in the San Francisco area, allowing him to visit Chinese mainland in the 1980s. Shi Wen still liked to do academic research, and eventually entered the RAND Corporation in the United States, specializing in writing about China. As an expert on China issues, Shi Wen has visited China many times, and according to his words, because of the nature of his work, he has exchanged views with Chinese officials and scholars, and the most frequented place is Beijing, and then Shanghai, Nanjing, Guangzhou and other major cities. He slightly regretted that he had not had the opportunity to visit the central and western regions of China so far. Shi Wen's most recent visit to China was in Beijing in early September to attend the China Development Forum.

On the question of how journalists view China's modernization process over the past 70 years, Shi Wen spoke in great detail about the huge difference between what he saw and heard when he first went to Chinese mainland and what he saw and heard and what china is doing. When Steven first set foot on Chinese mainland in 1984, he was under the impression that there were not many advertisements, and there were only a few shops selling foreign goods, most of whom wore clothes such as Zhongshan suits. At that time, there were not many lights at night in China. However, the situation is no longer what it used to be. Steven stressed that Americans who have not been to China in the past will not understand how China has changed. Residents now move more freely than in the past, with a large number of Chinese traveling abroad, and overseas Chinese students abound. Therefore, in terms of living standards, it is no problem to say that Chinese mainland people have experienced a "revolution". After decades of development, many Chinese lifted out of poverty. People become fashion conscious, catch up with fashion trends, and are full of interest and curiosity about the outside world. Shi Wen believes that China has made incomparable achievements, and in the future, it can continue to make efforts to strengthen competition and social openness.

As an American, Steven has his own observations about the happiness of Chinese. When he himself communicates with ordinary Chinese citizens such as taxi drivers, he can experience their complex feelings. Shi Wen said that many Chinese recognize that China has achieved great material wealth and has made great progress in the free movement of people. In his interactions with the Chinese people, they exuded pride in what they had achieved over the past 70 years. Of course, there is no shortage of complaints among the Chinese. Shi Wen often hears Taxi drivers in Beijing complaining about traffic congestion, and some residents complain about higher prices and unstable incomes. During the exchange, Shi Wen could feel the Chinese people's affirmation of many aspects of the United States, such as the economic development achievements and competitive environment of the United States. In Shi Wen's view, Chinese like to compete and have an entrepreneurial spirit; often family-centered, forge ahead, and strive for development opportunities; hope to achieve something economically, and aspire to live a better life. He argues that China is still largely in transition and is undergoing rapid transformation in a very short period of time that will inevitably create a sense of well-being and a better life for its people, while at the same time bringing anxiety and insecurity. What Sven admires is that Chinese can coexist with contradictions and can easily control this seemingly contradictory feeling in life. He said that because of this spirit, Chinese can cope with many difficulties in life. And the American people, especially the U.S. government, have not really captured this change in China. He suggested that when the United States views China, it should not be limited to the Chinese government or the ruling party, but also pay attention to the overall feelings of ordinary Chinese people.

At the important historical moment of the 70th anniversary of the founding of New China, as a scholar who has studied China all his life, Shi Wen congratulates China on the tremendous progress it has made in the past 70 years. Shi Wen said that although China has suffered some major setbacks in the past few decades, the overall structure and overall trajectory of China's development, especially the people's living standards, including the free movement of people, are positive. Steven believes that this momentum will continue. China is facing more and more challenges. Externally, China is more deeply involved in international affairs; internally, it is working to prevent social instability caused by rapid social change and rapid globalization. Properly balancing the two is a major challenge that China will have to deal with in the 21st century. Swain hopes that the Chinese people and leadership will meet this challenge by deepening reforms and opening up, and that the United States will be happy to see China progress as a way to strengthen China's willingness to work with the United States to address common issues such as climate change and sustain global growth and development.

(Guangming Daily Washington, October 4)

Guangming Daily (05/05/2019)