No way to turn the cultural clock back

Making live and let live the international norm

It's true that national interests remain the motivation for actors of international relations, and competition remains much of the norm for world politics, but in a world of growing shared interests, the law of the jungle is losing ground. It ceases to work if one always puts one's own interests ahead of others, or bases one's security on the insecurity of others. If you make other people unsafe, you put yourself in danger. The new philosophy of the new era lies in good implementation of the idea of live and let live, or to develop and let others develop.

The way to move further away from the woods of primitive society is to seek common prosperity and common security. Intensifying changes across the world call for concerted efforts from all countries.

The great patriotic pioneer of democratic revolution, Sun Yat-sen, said: "While competition is the principle of other species, human beings consider mutual assistance as their principle. They will prosper if they follow this principle, and perish if they don't".

In a sense, China's proposal to build a community with a shared future for mankind, which draws inspiration from such traditional Chinese values as the "great harmony of the world", answers Wight's enquiry. And such a truly international theory serves to address the pressing issues of the contemporary world and follow the trend of history. That is why the proposal put forth by President Xi has been written into several United Nations documents over the past few years. Which bodes well for the future of the world.

Question No 3: Should we build bridges or erect walls?

Early last year, a book published by Harvard University Press, The China Questions-Critical Insights into a Rising Power, drew wide attention in and outside the United States. The book is compiled by the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies at Harvard University and written by 36 experts on China.

We don't have to agree with all that's said about China in the book, but I was impressed by some parts of the Introduction. For instance, the preface starts by saying that, "If you've picked up this book, you have probably already accepted the premise that China matters, and therefore understanding China matters", "China has always mattered and always will", "but today China matters not only to the Chinese people themselves but also to Americans and to the entire world in some new, unexpected, and interesting ways". "In a certain obvious sense, understanding China has never been easy", "just as the United States has a trade deficit with China, it also has an understanding deficit".