BIZCHINA> Review & Analysis
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BIZCHINA> Review & Analysis
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Chinese characteristics vital in growth
By Madhav Nalapat (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-15 17:24 In many ways, China's relations with other countries have yielded mutual benefits. For example, till very recently African nations had no option but to rely on their European and North American counterparts to utilize their resources. As a result, they were paid low prices for their products, while the European and North American countries made huge profits. With the entry of China (and to a lesser extent, India) into the continent, African countries now have an option, and hence get better prices for their products. China and India both need to ensure that the African nations no longer remain just suppliers of raw materials, but also grow into manufacturing and service hubs. For more than four centuries, a small segment of the local population in Africa (which was of European origin) controlled practically all the resources and wealth of the continent's countries. Only in the 1960s did the native populations began emerging from centuries of suppression to assume state power. China and India need to link with these elements and help them on their journey toward equal opportunity. They are likely to get the help of most elements in present-day Europe and North America because people there have given up the zero-sum mentality of their ancestors for mutually beneficial equations. In most of Europe, people of Asian and African origins live with dignity because of the moderate attitude of the native majority populations. In the US, an extraordinary event took place in 2008, when a largely European-origin pool of voters chose Barack Obama over John McCain to be their president. We need to acknowledge this shift in mindset, and not allow resentments caused by past experiences to influence our decisions toward Europe and North America. Non-violence (or ahimsa in Sanskrit) is at the core of Indian civilization, just like it is in China's. Just as economic relations need to be crafted on a mutually beneficial basis, so too should political interaction remain peaceful in line with the commitment of China and India to a harmonious world.
The Chinese and Indian armed forces are engaged in tasks such as fighting piracy and preventing proliferation of deadly technologies, which benefit the entire world. The two armed forces have played leading roles in providing help to millions of people ravaged by floods, earthquakes and diseases in their respective countries. China is on its way to becoming the most productive country on the planet as it was for 2,500 of the past 4,000 years. Care needs to be taken to ensure that this steady rise is imbued with "Chinese characteristics", so that the values of mutually beneficial development, social justice and global harmony are followed. Partnerships rather than conflicts, mingling of peoples instead of segregation, and as equitable a distribution of wealth as possible as opposed to concentration of resources in a few hands are a few principles that need to be adopted by China and other emerging Asian giants to help create a new world order that respects all instead of acting for the benefit of only a few. The author is UNESCO peace chair and professor of geopolitics in Manipal University, India. (For more biz stories, please visit Industries)
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