# Professor Li Xiguang
“China’s economy will overtake the United States in 2014 to become the world’s first,” announced the World Bank International Comparison Program based on the currency in the purchasing power of different countries. But despite the forecast that China is becoming the first of the world, David Shambaugh still regards China as “a passive power”. He says, “When we look at China’s presence and behavior on the world stage today, we need to look beyond its superficially impressive capabilities and ask: Is China actually influencing the actions of others and the trajectory of international affairs in various domains? The short answer is: not very much, if at all. In very few—if any—domains can it be concluded that China is truly influencing others, setting global standards or shaping global trends. Nor is it trying to solve global problems.”
It is very strange that there is still no basis for legitimacy after China‘s economy has made such great achievements. In any Western country, if a ruling party had made such a rapid economic success, without a doubt, its legitimacy is solidly based. But it seems that China is not like that. We need to review the issue.
In his book “Multiple modernities”，Shmuel Noah Eisenstadt believes that there is no universal validity of Western model of modernity and modernization processes are shaped by specific cultural characteristics, leading to a variety of culturally specific modernities, Eisenstadt writes, “even if different societies cope with similar problems and structural causes of modernization, distinctive cultural programs inherent in different societies will provide different solutions to these problems.
Professor Lok Raj Baral, a spolitical analyst of Nepal, writes that China defies many commonly held theories of nation state. “The concept and practice of nation-state is of recent origin, the ‘identity of the Chinese was formed before China assumed the status of a nation state, unlike in the West , where the identity of people, China’s long tradition and other characteristics make what is called a ‘civilization –state’”. “As it has been said, ” the legitimacy of the state, profound and deeply rooted, does not depend on an electoral mandate; indeed, even if universal suffrage was to be introduced , the taproots of the state’s legitimacy would still lie in the country’s millennial foundations”.
In 2010, political scientist Zhang Weiwei writes in Global Times that China being a “civilized state” is characterized by eight features: a huge size of population, a vast land of territory, a very long historical tradition, a rich sources of cultural heritage, a unique language, a unique political system, a unique society and a unique economy.
Zhang Weiwei explains in his article, “These features are in China’s development path and model. For example, China’s population, territory, history and culture determine China’s unique political system. In the long history, the Chinese people have formed their own political and cultural outlook: the fortunes of ordinary people, the prosperity and stability of the state are above everything else. It is hard to imagine that the majority of Chinese people would accept a change of regime every four or five years based on the Western multi-party democracy. If we give up the Chinese model, instead of copying Western model, China’s greatest advantage of being a ‘civilized state’ will soon become our greatest weaknesses, the political harmony will become political confrontation. “China will be thrown into chaotic turmoil a large-scale conflict. Many people in the world, including the Tibetan separatists, East Turkistan separatists, Taiwan separatists and Hong Kong separatists would be joined by all the Western anti-China forces in this largest civil war since 1911.
In the West, many people believe only the legality of multi-party competition. Zhang Weiwei dismisses it as “a shallow political idea”. Throughout human history, the most common legitimacy is the historical legitimacy. The political philosophy and historical heritage of a civilized country for thousands of years form the largest source of legitimacy. China’s rise is a rise of five thousand years of civilization and the modern state just overlaps the civilized country. Around the world today, China is the only country whose ancient civilization of thousands of years completely overlaps the modern state form.
In 2009, Jacques Martin writes in his book “When China Rules the World: The End of the Western World and the Birth of a New Global Order” that China will replace the United States as the world’s dominant power. In so doing, it will not become more western but the world will become more Chinese. Jacques argues that we cannot understand China in western terms but only through its own history and culture. To this end, he introduces a powerful set of ideas including China as a civilization-state, the tributary system, the Chinese idea of race, a very different concept of the state, and the principle of contested modernity.
According to Jacques Martin, over the past 500 years, modernity comes from the West and many people are still thinking that there is only one model of modernity, that is the Western model of modernity. But actually modernity is shaped formed by market but also by history and culture. History and culture not only have huge potential effects on a nation’s social relations, custom and system, but also on a nation’s ideology, political and economic system. The soft power struggle between China and the West has moved from the survival struggle of the right to the struggle of development model with the success of socialism with Chinese characteristics, which has moved Chinese conflict with the West from the right of living to the right of development model.
In 2008, Bruce W. Jentleson and Steven Weber write in Foreign Policy( November-December 2008) that for more than half a century, the United States ensured that five Big Ideas shaped international politics:1. Peace is better than war; 2.hegemony, at least the benign is better than a balance of power;3.capitalism is better than socialism; 4. Democracy is better than dictatorship; 5.western culture is better than all the rest. Unfortunately, the five Big Ideas of the past century are no longer the sound and sturdy guides they once were. The biggest and most basic questions of world politics are open for debate once again. Democracy has brought free society. But is it effectively in efficiently creating just and peaceful one?
That China, a non-democratic state, has had the greatest success meeting the basic human needs and pulling them out of poverty speaks volumes of them. ”Be like us”, the propaganda slogan by Georgy W. Bush will never return. Modernization did not bring homogenization. Culture and identity are enduring. The Unites States has not confronted, either intellectually or politically, the profound consequences of the reality. The 21st century will not be a rerun of the 20th century.
China’s path of development is not the Western understanding of China’s copy of Western models. China’s road is an innovative model in both economic and political system. It goes beyond the western model of capitalism. It shows the world that there is not a Western-centered universal narrative discourse.
After the end of the cold war, Western values were elaborated by Francis Fukuyama in his book ”the End of History” as ultimate and universal. Many countries began to embrace Western political and economic model. But after the global financial crisis after 2007, it was discovered that China has become a global power by enjoying continued economic growth, improvement of living standards, political stability and social security without a change of its ideology and its regime.
Internationally the “China model” discussion are on the increase. China did not in the name of democracy throw itself into the endless fight among political parties. China is not only changing the global economy, but it also pose a challenge to Western democracy in its own mode. Many have seen China’s unique development as a model to follow. China’s advocacy of political values, patterns of social development and foreign policies will have a growing influence on international community. Even Francis Fukuyama, author of “the End of History” acknowledges that the rise of China and the Chinese political evolution must have its own cultural roots.
Masood Khan，former Pakistani ambassador to China, said, “In the past three decades, China has developed a unique development model. The most striking feature of this model is that no country in human history has developed so fast in such a short time on such a massive scale. More importantly, no country has lifted such a large number of people out of poverty and raised their living standards in such a short span. China’s economic model is all about people. It puts people first. Here the winner cannot take all. This model is also about balance – balance between collectivism and individualism, socialism and market economy, growth and development, human development and sustainable development. The model is called socialism with Chinese characteristics. In practical terms, it means: pursue socialist model to meet the needs of all people, not just the privileged few; harness the market forces to release the full potential of human genius; and make the development process flourish through the crucible of Chinese civilization.”
In 2004, Joshua Cooper Ramo summarized China economic development model as Beijing Consensus as an alternative to the neo-liberal Washington Consensus promoted by the IMF, World Bank and U.S. Treasury. Beijing Consensus captured worldwide attention on the Chinese model. Ramo noted the challenges China’s reforms have encountered are the challenges mankind has never experienced before from the point of view of scale and complexity. The reform in China will produce new problems never seen before, which requires an innovation. China should have a complete and independent brand new innovation.
But what is the complete new innovation? Xi Jinping has given answers to these questions: What is innovation? What is progress? And what is modernity. ”
Since he came to power at the 18th Congress of the Communist Party of China in November, 2012, Xi Jinping has made a series of speeches on Chinese culture, traditions and value system. It is obvious that Xi wants to end the dominance of Western political and ideological discourse among Chinese elite and build a self-confidence among the elite and the public that the rule of Chinese Communist Party has solid base and rich sources for its political legitimacy.
The report of the 18th Party Congress stressed “three self-confidences” proposed by Xi a few months before the meeting, which are being self-confident on China road, Chinese system and the Chinese theory, stressing the need to adhere, to explore and to develop the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
At the third plenary session of the 18th Party Congress held in 2013, CPC passed a resolution on comprehensively deepening reform on a number of important issues. It states that the overall objective of the reform is “to improve and develop the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, promote the modernization of national governance systems and governance capacity”，making a complete maturation of the Chinese socialist system a major historic task.
As early as October 13, 2009, Xi Jinping told the 61st Frankfurt International Book Fair opening ceremony that, “Cultural diversity is an objective reality of human society and the basic feature of the contemporary world. Differences in ideology, social system and development model should not become the barrier to the exchange of human civilizations. There should not be a reason to confront each other. We should uphold the diversity of civilizations and promote dialogue among civilizations. We should learn from each other and should not be mutually exclusive in a colorful world. ”
On March 23, 2013, Xi said in Moscow Institute of International Relations said, “All countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, are equal. We should respect the rights of the people of other countries to independently chose development paths and to oppose interference in other countries’ internal affairs. We should maintain the international justice. ‘Shoes fit or not, only the wearers know.’ Where a development path fits a country or not, only its people have the final say. ”
Speaking at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris early this year, Xi said, “No one civilization can be judged superior to another.” “Every civilization is unique. Copying other civilizations mechanically or blindly is like cutting one’s toes just to fit his shoes, which is not only impossible but also highly detrimental.“ “If all civilizations can uphold inclusiveness, the so-called “clash of civilizations” will be out of the question and the harmony of civilizations will become reality. This is like what we Chinese often say, ‘radish or cabbage, each to his own delight.’”
Since the 1911 Revolution led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen, China experimented with constitutional monarchy, imperial restoration, parliamentarism, multi-party system and presidential government. But Xi said in a speech at the College of Europe in Belgium four months ago，“Nothing really worked. Finally, China took on the path of socialism. We have, acting in line with China’s national conditions and the trend of the times, explored and blazed a trail of development and established socialism with Chinese characteristics, Building a moderately prosperous society, so as to realize modernization, and gradually achieve common prosperity of all.”
As Xi has repeatedly stated that China cannot copy the political system or development model of other countries because it would not fit China, and it might even lead to catastrophic consequences. Xi said, “The Chinese people over 2,000 years ago had come to understand this from a simple fact that a tasty orange grown in southern China would turn sour once it is grown in the north. The food may look the same but the taste is quite different because the north means different location and different climate.”
Two months ago, Xi told students at Peking University, “”Different nations, different countries due to their different natural conditions and the development process, resulted in the formation of core values of its own characteristics. The core values of this nation must fit this country’s history and culture, they must fit the ongoing struggle with the nation, they must fit the era of the problem in this country need to be addressed. “ “We would never accept any foreign dictates of preaching.”
As elaborated in Xi Jinping series of speech, today’s China is no longer hiding behind Western mode of discourse and development, China is opening up their own way. In early colonial era, European countries under the banner of enlightenment transplanted the European model to Africa and Eastern countries but resulted in an economic plunder and political catastrophic consequences.
According to the Statistical Office of the United Nations, in the years 1988-2012, the annual GDP growth rate was ranked as: China (9.7), Latin America (6.7), India (6.4), East (3.8), Poland (2.9), world average (2.8); United States (2.5), Germany, and Western Europe (1.8), Japan (1.3), Eastern Europe (1.0), Hungary (0.8), Russian (0.6), Ukraine ( -1.6).
If you compare 24 years of the proportion of economic growth, China 930%, the world average 179%, United States 183%, Western Europe 153%, Eastern Europe 128%, Hungary 120%, Russian 116%, Ukraine only 70%.
Today, Ukraine and Thailand is an irony of western-style democracy. More than 20 years ago, Thai people took to the streets to demand return of electoral democracy, but now they seem to be back to the beginning: people took to the streets again.
Western Democratic countries are inherently flawed. Democratic governments are accustomed to huge structural deficits and borrowings. Political parties meet the immediate needs of voters while ignoring long-term accumulation of investment. For more than 30 years, the Governments of France and Italy have failed to balance the budget. Developed countries along with the emerging democracies focus on the short term spending rather than long-term investments. Brazil allows civil servants to retire at 53, but not to build a modern airport system. India pays interest groups to draw support, but have less investment in infrastructure.
One the one hand, the poor are more resistant to globalization. They do not want to lose the jobs and lose the existing quality of life while the rich are willing to look for more opportunities in globalization, want policy to be more open. On the other hand, information technology amplifies the opposition’s voice. Internet activities are much easier. People can take part in virtual TV voting every week, with a click of a mouse to show your support of a petition. The parliamentary democracy elected every few years looks increasingly anachronistic. People are more likely to “change now” rather than a long wait.
The West always said that China will not be a normal country until it has is a system of multiparty system and free elections. The West only says such political system will lead to better results, such as what happened in Western Europe and North America. They forget that the riches in these countries today were related to imperialism and colonialism. There are a lot of countries who adopted Western democracies but failed.
The difference between the West and China is that the West focused only on form of political order while China focused on the essence of political order, namely, the political objectives and means for operating system. Ordinary people are most concerned about that Government policies could reflect their real needs.
Under the impact of market economy, like elsewhere in the world, the grassroots community in China has fragmented, especially the workers, peasants, middle class and other ordinary workers, who have limited access and orderly participation in social affairs. In this case, the development of “civil society” could be an easy alienation tool for vested interests, and could even become a weapon in the hands of external forces. So, what China wants is to establish “a people’s society” aiming at common prosperity. To achieve this end, the ordinary people must have an incentive to participate in social affairs, there should be the direct participation of the people in the reform and policy development, building a shared political and economic rights of ordinary based on broad and direct political participation, which is not like the endless political confrontation between the government and “civil society” in other countries.
Since ancient times in Chinese culture and politics, particularly after Faxian brought back Mahayana Buddhism from Nepal and South Asia to China 1600 years ago, the people have been the foundation and the heaven in Chinese culture and politics. The legitimacy and cohesion of China’s political system comes from continuous improvement of people’s livelihood, sustained economic growth, increased employment opportunities to strengthen social security, etc.
If a government does not have a stronger ability to protect and promote the interests of the masses in politics, security, education, health, employment, pension and free expression, if a government loses its function of serving the people wholeheartedly, it completely lost its legitimacy. Whether socialism or capitalism, their legitimacy depends on whether it serves the people by protecting these fundamental rights of the people.
(21 Jun 2016, Re-produced 26 March 2022)
