Europe urged to use facts to formulate policy

Europe needs a more accurate understanding of China based on facts and first-hand observation if it is to formulate a realistic and constructive China policy, Ondrej Dostal, a Czech member of the European Parliament, said on Thursday.

Speaking at the Vision China event "Listen to Each Other, Open New Horizons" in London, Dostal said the world was changing rapidly and countries needed to observe, learn and adapt if they were to bring peace and prosperity to their citizens.

Dostal said his personal understanding of China had developed through visits spanning nearly two decades. He first traveled to the country in 2008 to attend a conference on health law and visited again after being elected to the European Parliament.

His visits to cities including Shanghai, Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, Changsha in Hunan province, and Zhejiang's Ningbo gave him an opportunity to witness the scale of China's development and its growing strength in innovation and advanced technology, he said.

"I saw how China has become a world leader in innovation, patents, and highly productive forces in technologies that will shape our future," Dostal said. "I also saw the pride of Chinese people in what their country has achieved, while at the same time remaining curious about the world and eager to learn and exchange ideas."

Those experiences had revealed what he described as an enormous gap between China's reality and Western perceptions of the country.

Many people in the West, he said, continued to rely on an image of China that was years or even decades out of date. Besides, parts of Western political and media discourse were engaged in the "purposeful smearing of China", presenting the country principally as a threat and discouraging friendship and mutually beneficial engagement.

He noted that China had been described not merely as a partner and competitor but also as a "systemic rival". The combination of China's rapid transformation and persistent negative narratives made it difficult for many Western citizens to form a current and balanced picture of the country, Dostal said, adding that while some perceptions had simply failed to keep up with events, other misunderstandings were being actively reinforced.

That made discussions such as the London event especially valuable, he said. Recalling an inscription he had seen on a stone outside Renmin University of China in Beijing, Dostal said academics and politicians had a responsibility "to seek truth from facts".

"China's visa-free policy has also been a major game-changer," Dostal said. "It has boosted tourism and allowed countless Westerners to travel to China, experience the country for themselves, speak to its people, and see a reality that often bears remarkably little resemblance to the image presented in our media."

Europeans need to understand China in its full complexity, including its achievements and contradictions, history and aspirations, government and people.

A China policy based on reality would allow Europe to move beyond outdated stereotypes and narratives portraying China principally as a threat, he said. It would also create more room for partnership and friendship at a time when cooperation was essential to addressing shared challenges.

"Only when we see China as it actually is can Europe formulate a China policy based on reality rather than projection," Dostal said.

Such an approach would help China and Europe strengthen mutual understanding and work together toward a better future, he added.

zhangzhouxiang@chinadaily.com.cn