Friend or foe? That's not the right question

Editor's note: Zhang Weiwei, professor of China studies with Shanghai-based Fudan University, gave a speech on China-US relations at Harvard University on Oct 15. The following is a brief summary of his remarks:

Over the past 40 years, trade between China and the United States has increased 233 times, and everyday 14,000 people shuttle between the two countries.

Yet, the number of Chinese tourists heading to the US during the National Day holiday in the first week of October this year dropped more than 40 percent year-on-year, which is partially attributable to the trade frictions initiated by the Donald Trump administration.

Forty years ago, the US media asked whether China was a friend or a foe. Forty years on, they are asking themselves that question again.

But it is not just the US that asks this question, China too has to ask itself whether the US is a friend or foe.

Yet as the saying goes "Things sometimes get worse before they get better," and I am positive about the future of ties with the United States, as we always believe that enemies can become friends. This is an important logic of China's diplomacy.

China believes in inclusiveness and forgiveness, and does not have the militaristic tradition of the West. Zheng He's oceangoing voyage in the 15th century, on ships 100 times larger than Christopher Columbus' Santa Maria 80 years later, did not seize colonies for China, but promoted friendship and trade.

It is absurd for the US media to depict China as a warlike country. What China wants to build is a community of shared future for humankind.

And there are more and more Americans, especially young people who care about China. Many states and cities have exchanges with China, from officials to the corporate world people are very friendly toward China. The latest survey by the American Chamber of Commerce in China also shows that most US companies in China continue to be optimistic about China, and one-third of them plan to further increase their investment in China.

Even if the pessimistic view temporarily dominates mainstream US society, we should not be overly pessimistic.

To return to the question of whether China is a friend or foe, in my opinion this question is typical of Western logic, which sees everything as black and white, one or the other, you lose, I win.

For China the question is actually slightly different. China's way of thinking is more inclusive. We believe that different people can learn from each other for their mutual benefit. Therefore, the question for us should be is someone a friend or a friend to be.

In other words, in the political culture of China, especially in the political tradition of dealing with state-to-state relations, all countries are current friends or future friends. We do not draw ideological lines and do not draw lines between political systems. Even if a country has a difficult relationship with China for whatever reason, we firmly believe that in the end we can create the conditions to become friends.

That is the key feature of China's foreign policy today, I believe, dealing with all countries as friends and partners.

MAP, mutually assured prosperity, is better than mutually assured destruction, which is rightly called MAD. World history has entered a critical moment. We must prevent any efforts to push Sino-US relations into a cold war based on a balance of terror. That requires we take a more courageous step forward and work together to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

Hopefully, this speech will not be deemed as interference in the internal affairs of the US.