China Path and China-U.S. Relations

The following is the speech given by Zhao Weiping, Chinese Consul General to Chicago, at the Opening Reception and Dinner of the “Has China Found a Unique Path of Modernization: The China Model Revisited” Conference on May 4, 2015.

I. Path of Great Vitality

Recently, some Western academics have become active again as regards the so-called “revisiting the China Model,” their focus on the question of whether China has found a unique path of modernization. Actually, as always, China is simply walking its own path. We don’t use the term China Model, and we do not intend to create a China Model. We believe that all countries should follow their own paths that suit their national conditions, and that there is no single established model of development that works for all countries.

We are confident enough to say that China has found a path suitable for its own development, that is, the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics.  

The major features of this path include the leadership of the Communist Party of China, focusing on economic development as the central task, adherence to the socialist system and the policy of reform and opening-up, building the socialist market economy, and socialist democracy.  

Past experiences have proved that this is a right path. In the last three decades, China lifted more than 600 million people out of poverty and realized the transition from an economy verging on collapse to the world’s second largest economy. Remarkable progress has also been achieved in China’s political, social, cultural and other undertakings. 

The Chinese people have never enjoyed such wellbeing and rich opportunities for personal development as they do today, and the Chinese nation has never been so close to realizing the goal of its great renewal. All these great changes would not have been possible if not for the choice of the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and the future development of China would not be guaranteed without continuous adherence to this path.  

I don’t know what conclusion the Western academics will reach in their on-going discussion on whether China has found a unique path of modernization, but I can assure them that China has full confidence in its current path.  

China is confident, because it has accumulated rich experiences in governing the country and developing the national economy, and fairly sophisticated frameworks necessary for building a socialist country with Chinese characteristics have been established in various fields. 

China is confident also because it has never stopped new trials and explorations to constantly improve its theory on the path of socialism with Chinese characteristic so keeping it up with the times and ensuring its effective guidance in addressing the new problems and challenges confronting the country.  

From whatever perspective, the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics is a path of strong tenacity and vitality, thanks to the extraordinary reform spirit of the Chinese people.  

China is the only country in the world that has conducted reform and opening-up for more than 30 years, and is still pursuing this course with even greater enthusiasm. As you may have noticed, at the end of 2013, China announced more than 330 reform items in the political, economic and social fields. Last year, the Chinese government adopted a decision for the first time in history to comprehensively advance the rule of law in China.  

For any China observer, if he hopes to acquire an accurate understanding of the country, it is important for him to pay attention to the ambitious reform programs of the Chinese government as well as its firm determination in implementing specific reform measures rather than only focusing on the challenges and problems China faces.  

I have never taken seriously the so-called theory of “China collapse.”          

Pessimists have overemphasized the negative side of China’s economy. Actually, the slowdown of China’s economic growth is manageable, because it is partly the result of the deliberate policy choice by the Chinese government, which is now focusing more on improving the quality of the economy rather than simply seeking a high growth rate.  

China’s goal is to keep the economy operating within a proper range. The upper limit is to prevent inflation running high while the lower limit is to ensure steady growth and employment. The gear shift in economic growth to medium-to-high speed is an important feature of the “New Normal” of China’s economy. 

Although the downward pressure is huge, the Chinese government has yet many policy instruments at its disposal. All the disrupting factors which may cause further difficult problems for the Chinese economy have been closely monitored by the government, and relevant measures will be taken timely when necessary.  

As a result of the reform and opening-up in the past three decades, China also enjoys favorable political and social situations. By saying that, I don’t mean there are no problems. The effort by the Chinese government to advance the rule of law is in itself a clear indication that China is aware of the existing problems and is working hard to address them. 

With the implementation of all the announced measures in advancing the rule of law, China will certainly further promote socialist democracy as well as judicial and social justice, and the human rights of the Chinese people will be better guaranteed.     

In spite of all the challenges and difficulties ahead, China will maintain its strategic resolve and consistency, and spare no efforts in striving for the two important goals of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2021, and turning China into a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious by 2049. 

II. Peaceful Development

Some people in the international community seem to feel uneasy about our pursuit of the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Their worries are unnecessary. The path we are taking is the path of peaceful development.  

The purpose of our development is to rejuvenate the Chinese nation and ensure a better life for the Chinese people. The rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will certainly put China in a better position to safeguard its sovereignty and national interests, but it doesn’t mean in any way that China will seek hegemony, and challenge or threaten other countries once it becomes stronger. Still less, China has a long way to go in its national development, and is more enthusiastic than many other countries about maintaining a long-term peaceful and stable international environment. 

For the past three decades, the development of China has become not only an important engine of the world economy but also made important contributions to world peace and stability. In today’s world, none of the wars or conflicts has been caused by China. On the contrary, China has always adopted a responsible attitude on international political and security issues, and actively cooperated with other countries in anti-terrorism and preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction. As the largest contributor of UN peacekeepers among the five permanent members of the Security Council, China has made direct contributions to peace and stability in countries like Mali, Liberia and South Sudan. 

Just like any other country, China has the right to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity.  

As early as in the 1930s, the then Chinese government had already officially listed the islands of the South China Sea as part of the Chinese territory. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese government issued the Statement on the Territorial Sea in 1958, reaffirming its sovereignty over the islands. It is only since the 1970s that some neighboring countries have put forth their claims over the islands in the South China Sea. They have illegally occupied some of the islands and conducted large-scale oil drilling in the region in spite of China’s strong opposition.           

However, China always stands for the principle of “shelving disputes and seeking joint development” on the issue of the South China Sea, and is firmly committed to solving relevant disputes with countries directly concerned through negotiation and consultation. China has been exercising restraint, but other countries did just the opposite.  

Similar to the South China Sea issue, the dispute in recent years on the Diaoyu Islands wasn’t started by the Chinese side either. In 2012, the Japanese government took such a step of the so-called “nationalization” of the Diaoyu Islands in an obvious attempt to legalize the territories Japan illegally took from China in history. It was only natural for China to react to this with strong opposition. 

Some of the Western opinion leaders, including media commentators, have adopted an abnormal attitude on the maritime disputes between China and its neighboring countries in recent years. They tend to neglect the historical facts. They seem to oppose anything China does. They only care about the so-called interests of Western allies in the region. They are keen to play up the so-called issue of ensuring the freedom of navigation, which has in fact never been a problem in the region. Such an attitude is neither responsible, nor helpful. It is totally biased to describe China’s protection of its legitimate interests as “aggressiveness.”  

III. Relationship of Mutual Benefits

No matter how the international situation changes, China will adhere to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the path of peaceful development. China will, as always, attach great importance to the China-U.S. relations, with the goal of building the new type of major-country relationship featuring “no conflict, no confrontation,” “mutual respect,” and “win-win cooperation.” 

I came to assume my current post as the Chinese Consul General in Chicago in early 2013, shortly after the new Chinese leadership took office and President Obama started his second term. At that time, the U.S. media were very pessimistic about the prospects for China-U.S. relations. So were the scholars I visited. One scholar even believed that the China-U.S. relationship had reached its most dangerous point since the turn of the new century. His remarks were alarming, but I was not scared because I knew that scholars tend sometimes to worry too much. 

The past two years have proved there were no big problems in the development of China-U.S. relations. The bilateral relations neither stagnated nor deteriorated. Instead, great progress has been made in various fields of the bilateral relationship.  

Top-level contacts have been frequent, providing critical guidance in pushing forward the bilateral relations. The first summit between President Xi Jinping and President Obama at the Annenberg Estate, California, in June 2013 was indeed historic, because China and the U.S. agreed to build a new type of major-country relationship for the first time, which set the direction for the future of the relations. The momentum of China-U.S. relations has been reinforced by the successful visit to China by President Obama last November. The two presidents have also been keeping close communication by means of meetings on multilateral occasions, letters or phone conversations.  

The China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogues continue to play an important role in enhancing the bilateral relations in the political and economic aspects, and each round of the dialogues has yielded a long list of tangible agreements. China-U.S. High-Level Consultations on People-to-People Exchange has given great impetus to bilateral exchanges and cooperation in the fields of culture, education, sports etc. The China-U.S. Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade, China-U.S. Joint Liaison Group on Law Enforcement Cooperation and other mechanisms have also made great contributions to expanding bilateral cooperation in various fields.  

The two militaries have been working hard to build a new type of military relationship and have made new progress in the fields of high-level exchange of visits, joint training and exercises, and other institutionalized exchange programs. The two sides have signed MoU on establishing the mechanism of mutual notification of major military activities and the code of conduct on military security in international waters and its associated airspace.  

Some statistics will strengthen your impression on the depth and closeness of China-U.S. relations. In 2014, our bilateral trade volume reached US $555 billion, and the two-way FDI in stock climbed to US $113.9 billion. About four million people traveled between our two countries. More than 274,000 Chinese students are studying at U.S. colleges and universities. There are 43 pairs of sister states and provinces and 202 pairs of sister cities between the two countries, and 44 direct flights between China and the U.S. have been established. 

China and the U.S. share many common interests in major international and regional issues. China has been working closely with the U.S. and other countries on such issues as anti-terrorism, climate change, cross-border crime, the Korean Peninsula, the Iranian nuclear issue and reconstruction of Afghanistan. 

Facts have shown that the development of China-U.S. relations has not only benefited people of the two countries but also had great significance in promoting world stability and prosperity. The world will be a better place as long as our two countries cooperate with each other, otherwise there could only be more problems. 

Owing to our different cultures and national conditions, China and the U.S. don’t see eye to eye on many issues and even have serious differences sometimes. It’s not necessary to deny the existence of the differences. The important thing is not to treat those differences with a cold war mentality, but rather to try every means to manage them appropriately for the sake of the overall development of the bilateral relations. 

Despite twists and turns, China-U.S. relations have forged ahead over the past decades. The Chinese side firmly believes that the goal of building a new type of major-country relationship between our two countries will be achieved. History will prove wrong the assumption that an emerging power and an established power are destined for conflict.  

This September, President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to the U.S. at the invitation of President Obama, which will provide another important opportunity for the development of China-U.S. relations. From now on, the two sides will have a series of close consultations in preparation for the summit. This visit will certainly give great new impetus to the mutually beneficial cooperation between our two countries and open up an even more promising future for the development of China-U.S. relations.