Africa -China Review Africa -China Cooperation and Transformation
Published:June05,2022
By MINLU ZHANG in Houston
The Chinese ambassador to the United States Qin Gang meets American students who are learning Chinese at the International Leadership of Texas at Garland High School on Tuesday. [Photo/Xinhua]
Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang visited Houston Thursday for the first time since taking office and reiterated the need for good relations between the US and China.
During a visit to the Asia Society Texas Center, the ambassador recalled the “philosophical discussions on the fundamental issues” between the elder generation of Chinese and American leaders. He also raised and answered three “fundamental questions” during his visit.
The first question Qin asked was, “What kind of world are we living in?”
“The US side has been talking about the ‘rules-based international order’,” said Qin. “Do the ‘rules’ refer to the house rules of the United States, or do they mean the international system with the United Nations as the core, the international order based on international law, and the basic norms governing international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter?”
If they refer to the latter, the ambassador said, “China and most countries in the world absolutely embrace them, and we look to the US for earnest implementation.”
However, Qin said, “aligning with a minority of countries to contain others, drawing ideological lines, playing up ‘democracy versus authoritarianism’, and imposing one’s own values and will on others — these practices will only make the world deeply polarized and chaotic”.
“There should be no hot wars, nor should there be a return to the Cold War. Hegemonism, bloc politics or Cold War mentality should have no place in today’s world,” he added.
The second question Qin asked was, “How can China and the United States, as two major countries, make themselves better and contribute to world peace and prosperity?”
“The first and foremost task for both countries is to run their own affairs well and become better selves,” the ambassador said.
China’s development is to “establish both ourselves and others, not to outperform, outplace or outcompete anyone else,” said Qin. The competition between China and the US should be “fair and healthy”, and it should make both sides better and stronger, he said, adding that “the competition should not be a zero-sum game and the winner takes all”.
“China stands ready for fair competition on how to run their country better and deliver a safe and happy life to their people, how to further empower global growth, how to provide more public goods for global efforts to tackle climate change and the pandemic, and how to produce better solutions to regional hotspots,” the ambassador said.
