The 2nd International Forum on Security and Strategy was successfully held by the CISS from January 10 to 12, 2020. Around 50 guests from China, the US, the UK, Russia, Australia and South Korea had intensive closed-door discussions over the theme of “Confronting the Great Changes: Challenges and Options”. Fu Ying, Chairperson of the CISS, moderated the event.
Le Yucheng, China’s Vice Foreign Minister, was invited to attend the forum and communicated with guests from home and abroad. In his speech, Le pointed out that the international situations in 2019 were primarily characterized by chaos and ineffective governance. In terms of national governance, populism clashed sharply with the establishment; radical social disturbances were seen in many countries, and television footages showed acts of violence. In terms of global governance, multilateralism was in a ferocious contest with unilateralism. With conflicts between big powers aggravated and regional hot-spot issues escalated, global issues have become complex and perplexing. Facing all these stern challenges, where should we go? Many government leaders highlighted solidarity, reform and people’s livelihood in this year’s New Year greetings. Le thought that we need to cooperate closely, reform bravely and focus on people’s livelihood so as to cope with these challenges. He believed that, as long as we are united as one and work together, we will not be afraid of storms, dangers and barriers and can successfully control changes, settle turmoil and open up a new chapter.
Le noted that, over the past year, Chinese people forged ahead under the firm leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core and made great new achievements. We celebrated the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and realized the developmental goal of seeking progress while maintaining stability. China’s GDP approached 100 trillion yuan with the GDP per capita exceeding 10,000 dollars, and for many years in a row China’s contribution to the global economic growth has surpassed 30%. We lifted more than 10 million people out of poverty, accounting for 70% of world poverty reduction course. China has now been the largest trading partner of more than 120 countries worldwide and the rank of its business environment also rose from 46th to 31st in 2019. Nowadays, China has become the most stable, secure and promising destination of investment — here you can see vigorous creations, hard-working people and glorious dreams everywhere.
Looking back on China-US relations over the past year, Le concluded that there are at least four lessons:
First, trade war cannot solve the problem and will only backfire by battering the economy of China, the US and the world. In 2019, the growth rate of the world economy was only 3%, hitting a record low since 2008. The trade war has disturbed market expectations, cracked down people’s confidence and hurt the world economy. It is time to stop the war.
Second, the tactics of “decoupling” and “new cold war” go against the trend of the times and are doomed to be unpopular. We have been living in a world with gradually increased interdependence and intertwined interests. Yet, the emergence of “decoupling” and “new cold war” would waste all the previous efforts jointly made by countries for years and lead the world towards fragmentation, isolation and confrontation once again. The consequences would be unbearable for all humans.
Third, shifting the burdens of crises onto China or getting someone else to take medicine for the illness is bound to be fruitless. China’s rapid development is attributed to the endeavor and struggle of its people; we have never profited at the other people's expense and do not have to be ashamed of anything. It is thus unfair and unreasonable as well as detrimental for all those involved to scapegoat China for problems of one’s own.
Fourth, the right choice to solve the problem is to have dialogue and consultation on the basis of equality and mutual respect. The signing of the China-US Phase-One Economic and Trade Agreement is a blessing of the new year, which benefits the two sides and the world and shows that the two countries have the wisdom and capability to handle differences through win-win cooperation. We wish that the China-US relations will see new progress, new ideas and new momentum in the new year. And we look forward to seeing both countries well implementing the crucial consensus reached by our leaders and getting the China-US relations on the track of coordinated, cooperative and stable development.
