Razumjeti Kinu – Understand China

Ima metoda koja se koristi u raznim društvenim naukama da učesnici zauzmu pozicije, i zastupaju stavove onog drugog, naprimjer Izraelac palestinske i obratno. Metod zna biti bolan, ali i katarzičan. Metaforički je to „hodanje u tuđim cipelama“.
Kini mnogi ispostavljaju određena pa i konkretna očekivanja, i to ne samo na međunarodnom, nego i unutrašnjem planu. U tim očekivanjima od Kine malo se razmišlja o kineskim pozicijama, kao i uzrocima zašto su takve kakve jesu.
Historija je učiteljica života. Sredinom 19. vijeka Kinu su napale tadašnje sile, prvo kolonijalna Velika Britanija, potom Francuska, kasnije Sjedinjene Države i Rusija. To se danas naziva Opijumski ratovi koje je Kina izgubila i morala je pristati na brojne političke i ekonomske ustupke. Razna poniženja i različitim oblicima trajala su sve do osnutka Narodne Republike Kine 1949, i to Kinezi danas zovu „stoljeće nesreće“. Nasrtaji na Kinu tu nisu prestali nego su se nastavili, a Kina je još 1950-tih formirala Pet principa miroljubive koegzistencije koji su do danas suština vanjske politike Kine, i vrijedi ih još jednom i ovdje ponoviti: uzajamno poštovanje suvereniteta i teritorijalnog integriteta, međusobno nenapadanje, nemiješanje u unutrašnje stvari jednih drugih, jednakost i obostrana korist i miran suživot.
Daleka prošlost? Ako pogledamo svijet oko sebe, vidimo da su takvi principi aktuelni, kao i uvijek kad je svijet na ivici haosa. Čemu onda služe ultimativni pozivi upućeni Kini da na međunarodnom planu uradi ovo ili ono, u skladu sa očekivanjima onih istih koji se smatraju pozvanim da Kini kažu kako treba djelovati u Xinjangu, kako na Tibetu, kako u Hong-Kongu a kako u Tajvanu.
U osnovi, glavni prioritet Kine uvijek je bio osiguranje stabilnog razvoja vlastite ekonomije. U tom smislu, najveći izazov za kinesku ekonomiju su različiti domaći problemi, uključujući izbijanje COVID-19. Kina je u protekle dvije godine bila stabilizator svjetskog ekonomskog rasta sa svojim otpornim lancima snabdijevanja, uspješnim antiepidemijskim naporima i postojanim ekonomskim oporavkom, te da u budućnosti neće biti drugačije kada je u pitanju pragmatičan pristup ekonomskom i društvenom razvoju.
Stoga bi fokus Kine na osiguravanju stabilnog društvenog i ekonomskog razvoja kod kuće također trebao biti odlična vijest za međunarodnu zajednicu, jer će stabilna i robusna kineska ekonomija biti ključno sidro i pokretač globalne ekonomije i u velikoj mjeri doprinijeti miru u svijetu. Kinezi se najudobnije osjećaju u vlastitim cipelama koje sami biraju. Možda bi svi sa Zapada jednom konačno trebali razmisliti o Kini – iz kineskog ugla.

Faruk Borić
glavni urednik magazina “Glas Kine”

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There is a method used in various social sciences to get participants to take positions, and advocate the views of the other, for example the Palestinian Israeli and vice versa. The method can be painful, but also cathartic. Metaphorically, it is “walking in someone else’s shoes”.
Many in China set certain and even concrete expectations, not only internationally, but also domestically. In these expectations from China, little thought is given to Chinese positions, as well as the reasons why they are as they are.
History is the teacher of life. In the middle of the 19th century, China was attacked by the then forces, first colonial Great Britain, then France, later the United States and Russia. Today, it is called the Opium Wars, which China lost and had to accept numerous political and economic concessions. Various humiliations and various forms lasted until the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, and the Chinese today call it the “century of disaster.” The attacks on China did not stop there, but continued, and China formed the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence in the 1950s, which are still the essence of China’s foreign policy, and it is worth repeating them once again: mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-aggression, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit and peaceful coexistence.
The distant past? If we look at the world around us, we see that such principles are current, as always when the world is on the brink of chaos. What, then, are the ultimate calls for China to do this or that when it comes to the war in Ukraine, in line with the expectations of those who are considered called to tell China how to act in Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
“Basically, China’s top priority has always been to ensure the stable development of its own economy. In that sense, the biggest challenge for the Chinese economy is not the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, but various domestic problems, including the outbreak of COVID-19,” the Global Times wrote in a commentary on March 14, recalling that for the past two years China has been a stabilizer of global economic growth with its resilient supply chains, successful anti-epidemic efforts and sustained economic recovery, and that it will be no different in the future when it comes to a pragmatic approach to economic and social development.
“Therefore, China’s focus on ensuring stable social and economic development at home should also be great news for the international community, as a stable and robust Chinese economy will be a key anchor and driver of the global economy and contribute greatly to world peace”, GT concluded. And it sends a message to the world that the Chinese feel most comfortable in their own shoes of their own choosing. Maybe everyone in the West should finally think about China – from a Chinese point of view.

Faruk Boric
editor-in-chief of “Voice of China”