China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Three-way push and pull
Trilateral dynamics among China, the EU and the US remain fundamentally unchanged
China and the United States have been increasingly vying with each other in the past four years. However, Donald Trump’s indiscriminate trade wars, coupled with his capriciousness, made it unlikely he would be able to rally the West against China during his presidency. Unlike Trump, Joe Biden values allies and he hopes especially to rebuild transatlantic relations. At the virtual Munich Security Conference on Feb 19, Biden delivered a speech as the new US president, claiming that there will be longterm and strategic competition with China, and calling on the US’ European allies to jointly confront China. The “threats” from China and Russia were also played up at the virtual meetings of NATO Defense Ministers on Feb 17 and 18.
The US regards China as its main competitor, and it seeks to contain China’s development, in particular its scientific and technological progress. Since it is unlikely to change the containment policy toward China implemented by the Trump administration, European countries expect the Biden administration to ask them to join it in its bid to contain China. The only difference may be strategies and methods.
Europe has also had a big change of attitude toward China in recent years. The European Union defines China as a partner, an economic competitor and a systemic rival, which reveals Europe’s ambivalence toward China. Although the EU still pursues an engagement policy, precaution has been accentuated.
While helping the US to force China to change its economic operation mode, or at least to open its market wider and faster, the EU also wants to stifle China’s scientific and technological progress and prevent Chinese standards from becoming global standards. Although the two demand the same things from China and have taken some joint actions, such as strengthening coordination on the World Trade Organization reform and pressuring China together, there was limited coordination between the two sides under the Trump administration. The Biden administration has made it clear that it will consult with the EU on an equal footing.
Therefore, China-EU relations will face greater pressure in the future. In terms of values, the Biden administration has proposed a “Global Democracy Summit” to be held this year, which is intended to address global corruption, defend human rights, contain so-called autocracies, and tackle alleged election interference. European countries have supported the idea. In terms of the high-tech sector, the EU’s policy toward China has begun to show signs of Americanization, such as restricting high-tech cooperation with China, preventing Chinese companies from mergers and acquisitions in EU countries and rejecting Huawei’s 5G equipment. It is expected that there will be closer cooperation between the EU and the US in the formulation of rules and standards in related fields in the future, while economic and trade relations between China and the developed economies of the EU will face more headwinds, especially in technological cooperation.
Europe and the US may also demand that China make commitments beyond its development stage and capacity on climate change and will also form a united front on the reform of international organizations such as the WTO and the World Health Organization.
All these developments stand in the way of greater cooperation between China and Europe.
But there is still room for ChinaEU cooperation.
First, unlike the US, the EU has no hegemonic interests and does not regard China as a real security threat. To maintain its hegemony, the US would rather put its economic interests aside and hurt China at its own cost, while the EU is unlikely to do so. Unconditional support for the strategic and geopolitical interests of the US is not necessarily in the EU’s interests. Therefore, European leaders have made it clear that Biden’s call for a united front against China would be counterproductive.
Second, China and the EU have a mutually beneficial relationship based on close cooperation and a solid economic foundation. Undermining this relationship would essentially hurt European countries’ own interests. For this reason, China and the EU concluded the negotiations on an investment agreement on Dec 30, 2020. The China-EU agreement on protecting geographical indications also came into effect on March 1 this year. These show that the two sides share strong common interests which necessitate strong practical cooperation.
Third, the EU and the US have different interests regarding some major issues of concern to Europe, such as Middle East stability and the development of Africa on which it may not gain strong support from the US but instead require Chinese support and cooperation.
So although new administration in the US will bring about some changes in EU-US relations, which will affect China-EU relations, the trilateral dynamics will not change fundamentally. The EU and the US will go closer and get along better but substantive cooperation will still be hard to achieve. China-US relations are unlikely to change for the better, but at least there will be more predictability. There will be more uncertainty in China-EU relations, but what is certain is that Europe will not abandon its engagement policy with China.
Instead of being just an onlooker, the EU has always sought to strike a balance between China and the US to its utmost advantage. Without the bullying pressure from the US that was exerted by the Trump administration, the EU could be more independent and better play its role as a mediator between China and the US. The three sides may therefore interact in a healthier way. But, of course, that is no sure thing.
The world needs cooperation instead of confrontation. This is what the three sides need to work together for.
The author is an assistant president of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations and director of the Institute of European Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
Red Classic, a term defining artwork that portrays the country’s Communist accomplishments, constitutes an important part of modern Chinese art. Signature works of the genre are in museum collections around the country, such as The Inauguration of New China (Kaiguo Dadian), an oil work by Dong Xiwen; Thousands of Hills in a Crimsoned View, a Mao Zedong poem-inspired, colored ink landscape by Li Keran and Dujiang Campaign, a relief sculpture by Liu Kaiqu. Some are on longterm display.
The National Art Museum of China, which boasts an extensive collection of such art, has been rotating these works for exhibitions, or lending them out for display at other museums. Wu Weishan, director of the Beijing museum, says the art will play a role in teaching the history of the Communist Party of China, as the country marks the centennial of its founding this year.
Wu, a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference National Committee, discussed at the fourth session of the 13th CPPCC National Committee how full use can be made of this legacy of history, culture and art.
“These epic works of fine art, sourced from extensive historical documents and research, re-create scenes from important events in the history of the CPC over the past century, and portray prominent figures and outstanding CPC members,” Wu says.
He says the paintings, sculptures, prints and photos present the beauty of faith, by telling touching stories of how the Party led Chinese people to overcome hardships and blaze a new trail of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
Wu suggests that Party historians work with art theorists and critics to conduct in-depth, systematic studies of Red Classic art, especially the themed works created after the founding of People’s Republic of China in 1949. He says a careful survey of how those works narrate Party history, and their distinctive approach to artistic presentation, will inspire new ways to help connect them with audiences today.
Wu adds that the career of Party artists, such as that of Han Leran, who is recognized as the first artist to become a CPC member, is also deserving of intensive study.
Han, born in 1898, trained as a painter first in Shanghai and then in France. He joined the Party in 1923. He was sent to Northwest China in the 1940s, where he was responsible for liaison work between the Party and local communities. He led archaeological excavations there and studied, categorized and recorded murals in the Kizil caves in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, many of which date back to the third century. He died in a plane crash in 1947.
The National Art Museum owns 135 of Han’s paintings, including copies of the Kizil murals. It held an exhibition displaying some of the works in 2018 to mark the 120th anniversary of the artist’s birth, introducing the contribution to the country’s history of this little-known artist to the public.
Wu says that the museum plans to hold a national symposium on the study of the depictions of Party history in art, along with that of the lives and works of Party artists like Han, to encourage the creation of new Red Classic artwork.
The National Art Museum and other cultural institutions, such as the Chinese National Academy of Arts, participated in a State project on themed art creation, launched by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 2016.
For the following three years, the museum organized regular master classes on the production of Red Classic art for young artists enrolled in the project. It then exhibited a selection of their works at several art shows in 2019.
Wu, a renowned sculptor in his own right, has held over 10 seminars as part of the project, at which role models from different walks of life were invited to the museum to sit for statues, while he offered instruction to the artists that were present.
Wu says the project of themed art creation has so far produced works that reflect the dramatic changes in the country since its reform and opening-up, especially how people at the grassroots level strive to realize the Chinese Dream.
“To make works that resonate in people’s hearts, we artists need to seek new content and explore with new forms, and it is our people and the time in which we live that we need to pay tribute to with art,” Wu says.
Wu says that the boom in new Red Classic art also requires innovation in the ways they are displayed and a variety of public education programs.
He says showing high-definition copies of Red Classic artworks is a good way to extend their influence to more people.
The National Art Museum owns more than 140 prints which depict Yan’an, Shaanxi province, as the Communist center in the 1930s and ’40s. Since 2017, the museum has gifted copies of these prints to galleries in Yan’an for long-term display, so that viewers can “feel the details of history and develop an enhanced sense of the Yan’an spirit”, he says.
“Art should not only be shown at museums, galleries, libraries and memorials. It should be felt in every dimension of people’s lives,” Wu says.
He suggests that advertisement boards in residential communities and public places, such as airports and subways, can serve as a good platform to introduce epic artworks to the public, and the screen of every digital device should be a moving museum. Making full use of digital technology will greatly increase the appeal of classical art among the young generation.
The introduction of short videos, virtual reality and augmented reality technologies is essential to extending the influence of the Red Classics while also better preserving them for future generations, Wu says.
In 1921, experts were amazed after colorful pottery pieces were excavated in the small village of Yangshao in Henan province’s Sanmenxia, which is known as one of the cradles of Chinese civilization. With the discovery of Yangshao culture, which dates back from 7,000 to 5,000 years, modern Chinese archaeology was born.
Starting from the village, archaeologists have explored all over the country in the past century. According to the National Cultural Heritage Administration, over 4,400 archaeological projects were launched in China in the past five years alone.
President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, emphasized the importance of archaeology in the country’s overall development at a group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee in September.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of modern Chinese archaeology, and the country’s legislators and political advisers discussed achievements in the field during the two sessions in Beijing.
A series of events, such as symposiums and publishing projects, to increase public awareness of archaeology are being planned, says Liu Yuzhu, director of the National Cultural Heritage Administration and a member of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
The compilation of a 5 millioncharacter history of Chinese archaeology will be completed soon and the book will be released in October, says Wang Wei, president of the Chinese Society of Archaeology and a deputy to the 13th National People’s Congress.
“That will be a milestone for Chinese academia and is set to benefit generations of archaeologists in the future,” Wang says, adding that more than 100 academic issues are included in the book, which will be “an easily accessible and crucial reference for international scholars to understand archaeological achievements in China”.
The third edition of the Chinese Archaeology Congress, a high-level symposium, is expected to be held in Sanmenxia in October.
Both Liu and Wang highlight the importance of public participation in marking the anniversary. Mass media will play a key role. A five-episode documentary on the history of Chinese archaeology is being planned, Wang says, and China Media Group will present a variety show, titled Chinese Archaeology Conference, that will review the greatest discoveries of the past century.
The Chinese Society of Archaeology and China Cultural Relics News, an industry paper, will organize an appraisal of the “top 100 archaeological discoveries in China of the past 100 years”, and a public poll will partially decide the final list.
For the anniversary, Wang also proposed to the NPC that a “national archaeology day” be set to recognize scholars’ contribution to archaeology and raise people’s awareness. He suggested announcing a national lifetime achievement award in archaeology to honor extraordinary achievement.
In recent years, significant archaeological discoveries have been made in China, like the 5,300year-old Liangzhu Archaeological
Ruins in Zhejiang province, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2019, and the 4,000-yearold Shimao site in Shaanxi province, which was picked by Archaeology magazine in the United States last year as one of “the decade’s 10 most extraordinary discoveries”.
Liu says, in archaeology, the academic focus during the period of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) will be on the origins of Chinese civilization, its early development and how a united country with multiple ethnic groups formed.
“We’ll use archaeological evidence to prove how the Chinese civilization has developed 5,000 years,” he says.
Discussions on measures needed to break bottlenecks in Chinese archaeology were also held during the two sessions.
Yuan Jing, a researcher with the Institute of Archaeology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and a member of the 13th CPPCC National Committee, says China now has only about 600 registered “leaders of archaeological excavations” working in the field, and 1,760 institutions have archaeological licenses, which leaves a huge gap in the study of the booming over archaeological findings around the country.
“Some archaeologists have to work over 300 days a year in the field. They are too exhausted to categorize the findings and display their significance to a wider public,” Yuan says.
He proposed that central government departments related to education, finance and human resources draft plans to nurture young talent and improve salaries in archaeological work.
Liu, director of the NCHA, says a more dynamic system nurturing archaeology-related expertise will be explored in the 14th Five-Year Plan. For example, vocational education will play a bigger role in training relevant technicians, and “stronger presence of social forces” will be seen in archaeological work.
“The measures will keep a balance between protection of cultural relics and economic development,” he says.
Thanks to the public’s rising consciousness about relic protection in recent years and officials’ efforts at the two sessions, some issues will be resolved.
For example, Nanjing in Jiangsu province promulgated the country’s first city-level rule in 2019, which specifies that well-planned archaeological research needs to be done before land is transferred for urban construction. The rule is set to avoid economic loss or damage to heritage sites when relics are accidentally discovered during urban construction. It will also avoid disputes between archaeologists and developers because of their conflicting schedules.
A similar policy has been adopted by some other cities, and is partially attributed to a proposal by He Yun’ao, a member of the 13th National Committee of the CPPCC and an archaeology professor at Nanjing University, during the two sessions in 2018.
“When the country’s development reached this level after decades of fast economic growth, archaeology, which decodes where we come from, naturally attracts society’s unprecedented attention,” He says. “An updated legal system can lead us to greater achievements.”
In the past century, Chinese archaeologists may have honed their skills amid one difficulty after another. Naturally, their horizon is wider today. More archaeologists have joined cross-border programs not only in neighboring countries, but also in faraway cradles of civilization like Egypt, Central America and Eastern Europe. China has joined 44 such projects in the past five years, according to the NCHA.
During this year’s two sessions, the Nanjing University professor called for more funding. “Many scholars have to raise funds by themselves for overseas research, making it difficult to carry out in-depth work,” he says.
“A national fund particularly for such programs will bear more academic fruit.”
He also handed in a proposal to enhance archaeological cooperation along the Silk Road by establishing a multilateral platform to include more international scholars. “A strengthened dialogue among archaeologists in different countries will help to build a shared future.”
When the country’s development reached this level after decades of fast economic growth, archaeology, which decodes where we come from, naturally attracts society’s unprecedented attention.”
He Yun’ao, an archaeology professor at Nanjing University and a member of the 13th National Committee of the CPPCC