US academic retraces Long March

National rejuvenation

When Brown moved to Xiamen nearly 40 years ago, he felt China was "behind the world".

"Today, every time I go abroad for work, whether to Europe, South America or Africa, it is obvious that the world has fallen far behind China," he said.

"It's not just technology, but lifestyle and culture. We talk of China speed as 'fast', but it's also China slow — the slow and human speed of social relationships. I love slowly brewing tea on a train going 300 km per hour," he said.

Brown attributes China's governance success to what he terms "precision government", pointing to large-scale initiatives like targeted poverty alleviation.

"The world faces the same problems, and can learn from China. Otherwise, there is no hope. The world is too small for the so-called powers to continue on as they have for 500 years," he said.

"Win-lose is no longer viable; our only choices are win-win or lose-lose," he added.

When asked about prevailing misconceptions of China in the rest of the world, Brown said, "Sadly, perceptions have changed little for many Westerners since I first lived on Taiwan Island 50 years ago."

He added that China's image is changing slowly because it is getting harder for Western media to portray the country as "failing".

He has constantly urged friends to come to China to see it for themselves.

"If you love China, come see it and learn. But if you fear China, even more reason to come. Sun Tzu's The Art of War says, 'know your enemy', but once you know the Chinese, you'll see they are not the enemy but friends — and perhaps even family," he said.

"My oldest son, Shannon, is married to a Xiamen girl," he added.

Throughout his decades of public commentary, Brown has frequently challenged prevailing Western media narratives, which he argues remain trapped in outdated Cold War paradigms and persistent anxiety over China's rise. Brown said that while Western media frequently characterizes China's rise through an aggressive lens, China's historical footprint has predominantly centered on internal consolidation and peaceful trade rather than colonial expansion.

"China invented fearful weapons 2,000 years ago ... yet China has never attacked other nations for trade; and the West has not ever stopped attacking other nations for trade, even now," he said.

When asked about how to improve China's image on the global stage, Brown referred to a Chinese idiom called "he er bu tong" — harmony without uniformity, meaning that real gentlemen always agree to disagree while getting along well.

"This is a key to telling China's story to the world — whether it is the Long March story, fighting poverty, or whatever. China and the peoples of the world have much in common. We need to show them that we have the same dreams, needs, problems, hopes and fears, and show how we have overcome these in China," he said.

Once people understand this, they can better accept China's differences, and perhaps even embrace them, he said. "After all, being different does not mean you are wrong."

zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn