Chinese top diplomat gives West pragmatic, erudite advice

Foreign Minister Wang Yi, one of the world's most experienced top diplomats, gave last week's Munich Security Conference a healthy dose of pragmatic and erudite advice on how to handle international relations. Incidentally, he also promoted China's brand-new Deep-Seek chatbot, which was released to the amazement of the whole world just about a month ago.

DeepSeek is another sign that China is leading the artificial intelligence revolution alongside the United States and ahead of the European Union, which, instead of developing its  wn AI industry, seems focused on criticizing, monitoring and regulating AI providers from outside the 27-nation bloc. The EU is run by bureaucrats who, and that's a global phenomenon, love to over-regulate industries rather than creating new ones. The problem is that such a policy stymies technological progress.

In an on-stage conversation with veteran German diplomat and outgoing MSC Chairman Christoph Heusgen, Wang quoted two Chinese proverbs that he said were difficult to translate into other languages. With a twinkle in his eyes, he suggested the international audience turn to DeepSeek to check it out.

Aiming to illustrate China's determination to defend its sovereignty and development rights, Wang quoted a phrase from Book of Changes, one of the oldest Chinese classics in history. According to DeepSeek, the phrase means "As Heaven moves with vigor and strength, the noble person strives tirelessly to strengthen themselves". An alternative translation is provided by the Pekingnology website: "As Heaven maintains its vigor through movement, a man of virtue constantly strives for self-perfection."

Wang, known for his erudition, also quoted late Hong Kong journalist, publisher and author Louis Cha Leung-yung, better known by his pen name Jin Yong, from his seminal work, The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, which was published in the early 1960s: remain unperturbed in the face of external challenges, much like the gentle breeze or the bright moon. This resonates with the Daoist concept of wu wei, that is, effortless action, and the Buddhist concept of equanimity.

The Pekingnology website translates it thus: "Let the strong do as they will; we remain as unperturbed as the gentle breeze caresses the hills. Let the fears act as they may; we maintain our poise as the bright moon illuminates the river."

In his keynote speech, "A Steadfast Constructive Force in a Changing World", at the conference on Feb 15, Wang reaffirmed that a multipolar world is not only a historical inevitability; it is also becoming a reality. He said China's answer to the "increasing mix of turbulence and transformation" across the world is that "we should work for an equal and orderly multipolar world".

Wang raised four pragmatic points to tackle the increasingly turbulent state of international relations. First, Wang advocated equal treatment among the world's 193 UN member states, meaning equal rights, equal opportunities and equal rules should become the basic principles of a multipolar world.

Second, emphasizing the importance of respecting international laws, Wang said that as an old Chinese saying goes, circles and squares cannot be drawn without compasses and rules, which means nothing can be accomplished without following norms and standards. He also stressed that without norms and standards, one may be at the table yesterday but end up on the menu tomorrow.

Third, highlighting multilateralism, Wang stressed that in the face of emerging global challenges, no country can stay unaffected and the "we first" approach in international relations only leads to a lose-lose result.

And fourth, Wang said countries should pursue openness and mutual benefit, because protectionism offers no way out, and arbitrary tariffs produce no winners. Decoupling deprives one of opportunities, and a "small yard with high fences" only ends up constraining oneself.

Hopefully, US President Donald Trump, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other US and EU leaders understood Wang's message.

Concluding his speech, Wang reaffirmed that China and the EU are partners, not rivals, reminding Western politicians, diplomats and scholars that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of China-EU diplomatic relations.

In his post-speech conversation with Heusgen, Wang said, diplomatically and without mentioning the obvious culprit, that "there is a country that is withdrawing from international treaties and organizations, and I think in Europe you can feel the chills every day".

The chills worsened by the minute during US Vice-President JD Vance's speech at the conference in which he lambasted European politicians for their perceived shortcomings including on migration, and told them that the biggest threat to their security was "from within", rather than from foreign elements.

European politicians at the conference were visibly taken aback by Vance's speech, indicating a growing rift between the Trump administration and European leaders. Perhaps Trump's attitude toward the EU will finally prompt European leaders to get their act together by reviewing the more than seven-decade-old politico-military ties with the US.

Instead of merely expressing their fury that Trump is intent on keeping them out of the peace talks with Russia on the Ukraine crisis, EU leaders should ask themselves why during the past three years they couldn't come up with their own peace initiative, unlike the "Friends of Peace" group launched by China and Brazil at the United Nations last September.

Now EU politicians are in a tight spot. It's another matter that they could have prevented the Ukraine crisis by not trying to expand NATO eastward, which, begun a quarter of a century ago, blithely ignored Russia's legitimate security interests and warnings.

On China-US ties, Wang said Beijing's policy toward Washington "is consistent and stable" based on the three principles put forward by President Xi: "mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation". Common sense is, in my view, the best way for the two countries to put bilateral relations back on track. But common sense is rare to find in Washington and Brussels today.

The author is the director of the Macau Post Daily.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

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