As one of the four ancient civilizations in the world that has never been interrupted, China has shined in the long history of the world, and no corner of the world can ignore China's brilliance.
However, China's history has also experienced periods of poverty and weakness, and those Western countries at the top of the world once believed that China will never turn over, but the facts have shown that China has all the potential to rise to become a great power, and we have once again painted a beautiful blueprint with unremitting struggle.
China's development is gaining momentum, but Western countries, led by the United States, cannot accept China's rise. British scholar Martin Jacques once delved into the question - why can't the United States tolerate the rise of China?
02 China's rise is not easyEvery country's rise is full of hardships and setbacks, and China is no exception. From Qin Shi Huang's unification of the Six Kingdoms to the outbreak of the Opium Wars in modern times, we seem to have been a global power.
The glorious culture of the Han and Tang dynasties once made many countries envious, and now Japan and South Korea, whether they want to admit it or not, but the fact is that they are deeply influenced by Chinese culture.
China's modern history is a history of humiliation, and we are only awakened when the British colonizers opened the door to China with opium.
Under the rule of the Qing Dynasty, the Chinese state was closed and conservative, and appeared backward and helpless. However, the Kangqian era seems to be only the last glory of China before its fall. Every Chinese son and daughter who loves the motherland is eager to see the country no longer trampled under the feet of others, and countless people with lofty ideals have a firm belief that even in the face of blood and sacrifice, they will lead China to break through the shackles and move towards the light.
In 1912, the Xinhai Revolution led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen was victorious, marking the official end of China's more than 2,000-year-old feudal imperial system. In 1921, the Communist Party of China was born, and the Chinese people had their own organizers and leaders.
In those turbulent and stormy years, China was like a lonely but determined walker. Countless revolutionaries with ideals in their hearts and willing to dedicate themselves to China, with their firm faith and boundless wisdom, have brought China out of the trough of history and become an independent country.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, we rose from poverty with great difficulty. The first round of the five-year plan successfully completed the set goals, achieved rapid growth of the national economy, and laid a solid foundation for industrial development.
With the unremitting efforts of the older generation of scientists, China's self-developed first atomic bomb and the first hydrogen bomb were successfully launched on the land of China, and the first artificial satellite was successfully launched into ......These great achievements have enabled the Chinese nation to gradually rise and move towards rejuvenation.
Reform and Opening-up: A Key Turning Point in China's Economic Rise Reform and opening-up is an important milestone in China's history, marking the beginning of China's benign ties with the world economy.
In just 40 years, China has made remarkable achievements that have amazed the world. In contrast, the rise of the West has experienced centuries or even millennia of colonial plunder.
China's economy has achieved rapid growth in the past four decades, growing thousands of times. After the 2008 world financial crisis, China's economic contribution to the world economy has remained above 30% for many years.
In 2010, China overtook Japan to become the world's second-largest economy. Today, China's economic development remains stable, and there is even an opinion that it is only a matter of time before China's GDP surpasses that of the United States to become the world's largest economy.
China is one of the countries with the most complete and powerful industrial and manufacturing systems in the world, and among the more than 500 industrial products listed by the United Nations, China ranks first in the world in terms of production of more than 40%.
China's economy has been deeply integrated into the global economy, and China's industrial chain and market have irresistible attraction to other countries. China's rise is not only reflected in the completion of large-scale infrastructure projects, such as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the development of aerospace technology, but more importantly, high-tech and informatization have penetrated into our daily lives.
For example, now you don't need to carry cash when you go out, Alipay and WeChat Pay have achieved "cashless shopping", while in the West, although credit cards are popular, the security of payment is far less than that of mobile payment in China.
The Rise of China and the Decline of the West" pointed out that in the future international pattern, China will not only be an economic power, but also a cultural power, because Confucianism's "Analects" and "The Mean", Taoism's "Tao Te Ching", "Zhuangzi", Mojia's "Mozi" and other traditional Chinese cultural works are experiencing the baptism of the new era and radiating new vitality.
1. "Chinese fever"with"Confucius fever"By the end of 2020, there were 476 Confucius Institutes in 127 countries and regions. Chinese"The Belt and Road Initiative"The initiative, with its profound cultural heritage, has been actively supported by many countries.
Whether in the economic, political, and cultural spheres, China has emerged as a powerful country and has shown its demeanor as a great power on the world stage. 2.It cannot be ignored that in the process of China's rise, it has experienced many hardships due to the suppression of the Western world led by the United States.
As Nicholas, a senior reporter for the New York Times, said, China has a strong sense of national pride, but it has been hurt by the West for a long time, and there is always a kind of exclusion, bullying and harm when dealing with other countries in the world"The pain of giants"。
America's hegemonic mentality is deeply rooted in the hearts of its elites and ordinary people. Since establishing global hegemony in 1945, the United States has been proud of the world with overwhelming comprehensive national power, which has made Americans have a deep-rooted sense of superiority, and they are unwilling to accept being commanded or surpassed by anyone.
China's rise, however, has caught Americans off guard, who are amazed by China's rapid development, see China as encroaching on their economic interests, and wonder about China's non-Western development model.
Professor Martin's point is that globalization is generally seen in Western countries as a process of gradual Westernization of other countries, which is largely capital-based. If a country's development path does not match the expectations of the Western world, then Western countries will interfere in its development, thereby interrupting its rise process, and even causing its economy to remain sluggish under the pressure of Western countries.
For example, countries such as Japan, Brazil, and Germany have greatly weakened their development competitiveness because of US interference. In the first half of the last century, China's development process did not deviate much from what the West envisioned and did not pose a threat to the West.
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, we have created an original path of socialist modernization that suits our national conditions, and our economic and political systems are unique and very different from those of the West.
On this path, China has achieved all-round and rapid development. Older generations of Americans recall that when they were young, their mothers admonished them to cherish their food and not to waste every bite, because many people in distant China suffered from hunger.
That distant China is today's China. But now, when the older generation of Americans go to China, they are surprised to find that China has completely distanced itself from poverty.
The United States realizes that it cannot stop China's development, but if China continues to move forward, its development path and ideology will be recognized by more countries around the world, and its influence may surpass that of the United States and pose a threat to the United States.
In fact, what the United States fears is not the rise of an Eastern country, but the growth of anti-capitalist forces, which threatens its right to speak on the world stage.
As a result, the United States is increasingly unreceptive to China's rise. In order to safeguard its own interests, the United States has been "guiding" other countries to achieve modernization, but the United States will use strong force against its favorite "obedient little brother," and it will find all kinds of excuses to take action against those who are disobedient.
Although the United States has a modern army and military strength, it cannot directly start a war in the face of China's complete army. As a result, the United States began to create tension by spreading the "China threat theory" and resorted to tariff barriers and import restrictions in an attempt to curb China's economic growth through economic sanctions.
However, as China's spokesman said, China is not afraid of a war, but is unwilling to fight, because we have great strength and influence, and the United States cannot easily sanction us.
However, the result of the Sino-US war will only be a lose-lose situation.
China has always firmly believed that win-win cooperation is the true path to peaceful development. What we don't want is a lose-all situation. The United States is recognized as a superpower in the world, its scientific and technological development is at the forefront of the world, and the dollar is also unimpeded in the world.
However, as the trend of multipolarization in the world pattern becomes more and more obvious, and other countries are also growing and developing, the United States may not be able to fully adapt to this change. Professor Martin believes that no country can always remain number one, and the same is true for the United Kingdom and the United States.
In fact, the U.S. economy is already on a downward trend, especially after the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020. Unfortunately, most Americans have failed to face up to this reality.
Professor Martin believes that China is rising at an alarming rate, which poses a threat to the Western-dominated world landscape. He believes that after the rise of China, it may rule the world with its own ideological model, as the United States did.
However, China's model is very different from that of the United States. China has always adhered to the tradition of modesty, restraint and hard work, likes to work silently, work hard towards the set goal, and never impose its own ideas on others.
This is the Confucian idea of "do unto others as you would have them do unto you", which fully reflects China's openness, inclusiveness and independence. Therefore, they have to make some "efforts" not to let China fall behind the United States, but also hope that China can make steady progress on its own path.
China has always adhered to the concept of open and inclusive development, which can be reflected in actions such as the Belt and Road Initiative and building a community with a shared future for mankind. While our country is strong, it has always fulfilled its responsibilities as a major country and has constantly helped other countries achieve development.
Since 1963, China has sent medical teams to backward regions such as Africa that lack medical resources, and this campaign has continued to this day. After the tsunami in India and the catastrophe in Japan, China has provided assistance to these countries without reservation. During the period of epidemic prevention and control, China selflessly provided medical supplies such as masks, ventilators, and vaccines to many countries to jointly cope with difficulties.
China, a country that has endured many vicissitudes, and it is these hardships that have given her resilience and greatness. Knowing the preciousness of peace, we embrace an open and accepting mind to make progress together with the world.
China's open and inclusive atmosphere also seems to stem from its profound and inclusive civilization. Among the four ancient civilizations, ancient Babylon has been submerged in the long river of history, and today's India and Egypt are no longer the ancient countries of the past.
Only Chinese culture, which has not been broken for thousands of years, continues to carry forward, which is not easy to continue.
Chinese culture has strong stability, no matter through the change of dynasties or the invasion of foreign enemies, it can accept the essence of other cultures with an inclusive attitude, embrace cultural diversity, and constantly eliminate its own dross through the development of the times, showing new brilliance.
On the basis of this strong civilizational inclusiveness, China has built a resilient development model, and its rise is only one stage in this process. The developed China has always adhered to the concept of win-win cooperation and has never attempted to dominate the world.
Despite the constant challenges from Western countries led by the United States, China has not lacked the determination to respond bravely. With a strong national image, we will firmly move towards a hopeful tomorrow.