China cannot be ‘exiled’ from the world
China’s rise has been “extraordinarily positive” for the world and it is learning how to become a great power, said Martin Jacques, a former senior fellow of politics and international studies at Cambridge University.
Jacques said the United States interprets China’s rise as a threat as it can’t imagine the country playing such an important role in the global economy and becoming an economic challenger to the US. “The idea that
America is No 1 is part of the American DNA.”
However, no country can expect to be No 1 forever, Jacques said. “So the rise of China economically is formidable. And it is deeply embedded. And it is showing its ability to perform in many different areas, including, of course, technology.”
He said the trade and technology wars launched by the US against China are not going to work.
“The trade war is going to damage China. But it’s probably going to damage the United States more than it damages China. It will damage the rest of the world as well … but essentially, I think probably the biggest sufferer of the two will be the United States,” he said.
The US technology restrictions are damaging China, in particular Huawei, because of the chip issue. However, a tech war would not succeed “because China’s innovative energy, innovative potential, innovative dynamic is just too strong now”, he said.
He said China has shown “extraordinary restraint” during its rise and never become involved in wars, adding that it had played a positive role in different global organizations.
“I don’t believe the present international system can survive for a long time. And the reason is quite simply that we live in a completely different world, a rapidly changing world,” he said.
“It’s the rise of different peoples, different colors, different languages, different cultures, different civilizations.”
Jacques added that: “I like the Chinese expression, inclusive civilization. But the West has got no idea how to embrace that.”