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PAGE 8 CHINA DAILY EUROPEAN WEEKLY JANUARY 9-15, 2015 Cover story: Comment Maritime Silk Road shows way forward GEOPOLITICAL INITIATIVE A GOOD EXAMPLE OF NATION'S CONSTRUCTIVE AND PEACEFUL RISE By ROBERT LAWRENCE1CUHN A n 'inflection point" in mathematics occurs when there is a change of cur- vature, say from concave to convex, at a particular point on a curve. There is now, at this particu- lar point of time, an inflection point occurring in China's diplomacy, as the country changes from reactive to proactive in its international rela- tions. Future historians may charac- terize this transformation as one of the defining geopolitical trends of the first half of the 21st century. I am pleased to see China's emer- gence but too many foreigners are not — they worry, openly or private- ly, about what a strong China may do. The so-called "China Threat" is real in that many foreigners believe it to be real. But do these people know the real China? Deng Xiaoping, China "Para- mount Leader who initiated reform and opening-up in the late 19705, said famously that China should "hide our capabilities and bide our time': His directive is often misinter- preted as advising that China, like a growing lion, should lie low while strengthening itself so that eventu- ally it can pounce. In fact, Deng sim- ply wanted China to build its own economy and never again be bullied by foreign powers. Has China "time" now come? President Xi Jinping has given his clearest directive for China's for- eign policy and it is certainly more engaged with the world. Speaking to senior Party officials last year at a top-level conference on foreign affairs, the first in eight years, Xi described China's new diplomacy. Articulating the "strategic objec- tives and principal tasks of foreign affairs work; Xi stresses safeguard- ing China's core interests, crafting a conducive international environ- ment, and hastening the nation's emergence as a great power. China, he says, should conduct "diplomacy as a great power" in an increas- ingly "multipolar" world — "making friends and forming partnership networks throughout the world" and "striving to gain more understanding and support from countries all over the world" for the Chinese Dream. China cannot compete for global leadership by power alone. Econom- ic and military strength, while neces- sary, are not sufficient There must also be moral and ethical aspects to China's rise: China must ride the high road, offering an alternative geopolitical vision that is in some sense superior to that of the West China, Xi asserts, should "see to it that equal importance is attached to justice and benefits. stress faithful- ness, value friendship, carry forward righteousness. and foster ethics". M a top-level session on regional free trade, Xi called for China to "participate and lead, make Chinat voice heard, and inject more Chi- nese elements into international rules': lb effect such historic change ZHANG CHENGLIANG /CHINA DAILY to the world order, Xi is reshap- ing the diplomatic landscape with "active engagement': For example, Xi describes a new category of coun- tries, which he labels "major devel- oping powers" (such as India, Brazil and South Africa) and with which China should "expand cooperation" and "closely integrate our country's development': Furthermore, China should take leadership in the devel- oping world and "speak for other developing countries". From climate change to interna- tional peacekeeping, Xi is changing China from a sometime reluctant follower to an often creative leader. China has re-emerged as a great power and there is no turning back What is Xi's grand vision for Chi- na? The world is watching; many are hopeful, but too many are fearful. Some wonder about Xit intent. But there is now no need to wonder; he has made his intent dear in his new book Xi Jinping: The Governance of China. Seven of the book's 18 chapters deal with foreign affairs; two stress the Maritime Silk Road of the 21st century — President Xi's novel initiative for multinational develop- ment that exemplifies his strategic thinking. Appealing broadly to the roughly 50 countries participating, Xi created a $40 billion Silk Road Fund to complement the more gen- eral $50 billion Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank Philosophically, to promote the Silk Road spirit, Xi offers four princi- ples: boost mutual learning between civilizations; respect each other's choice of development path; focus on mutually beneficial cooperation; and advocate dialogue and peace. Practically, to implement the Silk Road spirit, Xi calls for global think- ing that is "both farsighted and down- to-earth" and suggests a "1+2+3" cooperation pattern: "1" means coop- eration in energy, the whole indus- trial chain of oil and natural gas; "2" refers to "two wings" — one being infrastructure and the other being trade and investment, including Chinese investment in energy petro- chemicals, agriculture, manufactur- ing, and services; "3" describes three breakthrough, advanced technologies — nuclear energy space satellites and new energy. For China to fulfill its potential as a global leader, it must gain the worldk respect for its principles and philosophies, not only for its econo- my and military This involves appre- ciation for China's self-determined "road of development- and for its political system, particularly the per- petual leadership of the ruling party. This is a larger topic but such appreciation can develop only with a kind of convergence, where China political system continues to reform, with increasing transparency and freedoms, and where foreigners come to understand that pragmatic competence managing China's com- plex society trumps idealistic ideolo- gies of multi-party democracies. For China not to view the United States as its adversary, not as a threat to its system and government, Wash- ington will have to accept that the Western democratic model may not be ideal for all nations at all times. (The Middle East teaches this les- son.) China must continue to deter- mine and develop its own system. In my dream of a post-adversarial world, China assumes increasing responsibility for world peace and prosperity which includes oppos- ing regimes that trouble their own people. In seeking the moral opti- mum, China may have to tear up old scripts. For its part, the US should reject the Cold War mentality of "contain- ing China', resisting its rise, as being both archaic and self-defeating. Of course, there would remain areas of contention — balance of trade, human rights, territorial disputes — but different political systems should not be one of them. Politico- economic theories constructed in the 18th and 19th centuries have little utility in the 21st century, where most nations optimize free markets and government regulation that by nature can be neither generalized nor static. It is in the national interests of China and the US to work together such that their foreign policies begin to converge. Surely there are nation- alistic issues, and conflicts can com- pound when parochial media focus on real or perceived differences. The real achievements of nations — increasing citizens 'veil-being — are the synergistic accretions of advanced education, knowledge cre- ation and technology utilization. The US and China should change tired ways of thinking. The US should come to see China without the distorting lens of old history and the Cold Wan Decades have passed since China felt compelled to export the non-existent "glories" of extreme leftist "Utopia': Tbday's China has no interest in converting the world to its road of development or political system. China must pursue its own self- interests, which stress improving standards of living and the country's increasing prominence and prestige. To secure the former, China requires international stability lb enable the latter, China must take the moral high ground in international affairs. I applaud when China assumes more responsibility in promoting global stability, from reining in rogue regimes to providing humanitarian relief. In today's world, the real con- flict is not between opposing politi- cal systems but rather between the forces of modernity, competence and development on the one hand and those of ignorance, exploitation and oppression on the other. As such, Chinas increasing engagement with global diplomacy should be celebrated. The author is an international cor- porate strategist and political/eco- nomies commentator. He spoke at the book launch ceremony of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China and he is the author of How China'S Leaders Think The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily. EFTA00614474