Changes and challenges Robert Lawrence KuhnChina Daily Updated: 2005-11-15 06:22
China makes news. Stories about corporate takeovers, trade disputes,
diplomatic rivalries and military tensions fill the American media, and scare
screeds about "Communist China" that sound like Cold War satire are taken
seriously.
Consistent bilateral relations between America and China are essential for
the peace and prosperity of the 21st century, and for this reason such
misperceptions are disturbing and potentially dangerous. Americans should know
the inner attitudes and primary concerns of China's new leaders, especially
those of President Hu Jintao.
Recent history provides backdrop.
After a century of foreign subjugation and decades of ideologically induced
oppression, Deng Xiaoping initiated revolutionary reforms in 1978, two years
after Mao Zedong's death. These reforms became irreversible and the economy
developed dramatically during the period of Jiang Zemin's leadership from 1989
to 2002.
When asked what I've seen to be the country's greatest change since I first
came to China in 1989, I answer that economic development, as remarkable and
historic as it has been, is China's second most important change. China's
greatest change is the mentality and spirit of its people - their attitudes and
outlooks, expansive thinking, confidence in themselves and their country, and
enthusiasm to reach out to the world.
But China has serious, systemic problems - income disparity, fragile
financial systems, sustainable development, unemployment, migrant workers,
corruption, energy constraints, environmental pollution, family and moral
values, and more. Some problems result from dramatic economic growth; some from
rapid transition to a market economy; some from need of social and political
reform.
President Hu acknowledged that "The problems and contradictions China will
face in the next decades may be even more complicated and thorny than
others...with its social structure and ideological set-up also in major
shake-up." Furthermore independent thinking of the general public, their newly
developed penchant for independent choices and thus the widening gap of ideas
among different social strata will pose further challenges to China's policy
makers.
China's fundamental problem is a dependency on growth combined with a
widening gap between rich and poor, imbalances that the Communist Party calls
China's "most serious social problem." China must grow because, with tens of
millions of farmers needing to be relocated to cities, millions of workers laid
off from State-owned enterprises, and with legions of young people entering the
workforce, unemployment could threaten social stability.
President Hu Jintao is now faced with the natural consequences of the
country's prodigious economic transformation, which has spawned complex and
interwoven challenges. China's leaders know that they must be flexible,
innovate, consider diverse opinions, and make measured decisions.
President Hu's overarching vision is summarized by three slogans -
"Harmonious Society" (he xie she hui) and "Scientific Development Perspective"
(ke xue fa zhan guan) domestically, and "Peaceful Rise" (he ping jue qi)
internationally. Harmonious Society stresses social and political reform and
seeks fairness and equity across China's diverse populations and geographies;
Scientific Development Perspective stresses integrated sets of solutions to
arrays of economic, social and environmental problems, and seeks the
rectification of economic imbalances and the institutionalization of sustainable
development; and Peaceful Rise conveys that no matter how strong China will
become, it will remain a bulwark of stability in the world and it will never
threaten its neighbours.
One application of Scientific Development Perspective is the recent rejection
by a coastal county of a large investment in a battery factory because of
pollution. Another is a huge investment by the municipality of Tianjin in a
world-class hospital (Tianjin Medical University General Hospital) with a
"Health Management Centre" to promote healthy lifestyles and prevent illness.
It is true that many of China's current problems are the inevitable side
effects of rapid economic development, which, of necessity, had to occur in an
unbalanced way. Without economic development, everyone is equal but poor -
everyone is equally poor. China must prevent the trauma of social disruptions by
getting out ahead of the historical trends and implementing sophisticated,
nuanced policies. Economic development had to come first, but now a more complex
agenda of social and political requirements must be integrated and optimized
with pure economic growth. This is the only way to represent the fundamental
interests of the people and this is the primary thrust of President Hu's
Scientific Development Perspective.
Hu Jintao continues the Party's modernization, calling for both "Advancement"
of the Party and its increasing transparency, thus creating a "democracy of the
elite" (which is my term, not China's), which means increasing democracy within
the Party and the Party continuing to lead the country. President Hu's political
philosophy stresses closeness to people; people first; transparency in
government; increasing democracy and openness in the Party; progressive
democracy in society (where propitious); continued economic development; and an
all-around pragmatism. Hu's commitment to promote democracy is tempered by the
higher good of social stability.
Western criticism of President Hu, particularly regarding human rights,
highlights his sensitivity to social stability but misses his fresh commitment
to address China's multifaceted problems. Hu's pragmatic, non-ideological agenda
has three core values - maintaining social stability to further economic
development; instituting social fairness and rectifying imbalances; and
sustaining Chinese culture to secure national sovereignty and enrich people's
lives. Such realism increases confidence that China, notwithstanding its
problems, will maintain its remarkable development.
What emerges in the view of President Hu is the "China Model," a systematic
approach to national structure and development that combines dynamic economic
growth, a free market energized by a vigorous "non-public" (private) sector,
concern for the welfare of all citizens, cultural enrichment, and a synergistic
approach to rectify economic imbalances (Scientific Development Perspective) and
ensure social fairness - all of which lead, in Hu's vision, to a Harmonious
Society. Beijing sees its China Model as an alternative to Washington's Western
Democracy Model, particularly for developing countries.
In President Hu's words, "A harmonious society should feature democracy, the
rule of law, equality, justice, sincerity, amity and vitality." Such a society,
he says, will give full scope to people's talent and creativity, enable all the
people to share the wealth brought by reform and development, and forge an ever
closer bond between the people and government.
The author, senior advisor, Investment Banking,
Citigroup, is the author of The Man Who Changed China: The Life and Legacy of
Jiang Zemin, the best-selling book of 2005 in China. The article is based on his
speech at the Foreign Correspondents?Club, Hong Kong
(China Daily 11/15/2005 page4)
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