China not arrogant

WHILE it is true that China has made remarkable achievements in many areas since the launch of reform and opening-up 40 years ago, from the surfeit of online and social media stories with sensational headlines bragging about how strong or powerful the country is in seemingly every respect, one would be forgiven for thinking that the country was the world’s only superpower.

Yet most of those stories show no understanding, have sensational click-bait headlines to get more viewers, which can be monetised.

Since the majority who read such posts rarely bother to delve deeper, there is a tendency for them to get carried away by the supposed standing of this nation in the world, believing it can assert itself as it pleases, with the additional appeal of enabling belief in redress for past humiliations.

Yet what people should bear in mind, the nation’s elite in particular, is that it is the modesty and earnestness Chinese people have displayed in learning from other countries, the developed in particular, which has made it possible for China to become what it is today.

For an individual, the motto should be one is never too old to learn. And for a nation, it can never be too strong to learn. For China, which is not as strong as some would believe, there are still a lot of challenges and much to learn from developed countries.

There is no reason for China and its people to be arrogant and haughty no matter how strong and prosperous the country becomes. And no reason for China to lord it over other countries.

China’s world view is shaped by its understanding of the underlying historical trends and its focus on the big picture, and for this reason it wants the international community to come together in recognition of its shared future.

Thus, even as China’s economic strength continues to grow, earnestness in getting along well with the rest of the world will continue to be the principle on which China’s diplomacy is based.