Risikoen ved Vestens “Kina-strategi”?
International online-konference onsdag den 7. juni 2023 

Vi inviterer dig hermed til et onlineforum for at diskutere udfordringerne ved Vestens nuværende Kina-politik. 

Blandt talerne er 

– Helga Zepp-LaRouche, præsident for Det Internationale Schiller Institut, Tyskland 

– Zhang Jun, dekan for den økonomiske skole på Fudan Universitet i Shanghai, Kina 

– Charles Liu, Senior Fellow ved Taihe Institute, Kina 

– Ole Döring, professor ved Institut for Fremmedsprogsstudier ved Hunan Normal Universitetet, Kina

I det nuværende geopolitiske miljø bevæger vestlige ledere sig væk fra at referere til Kina som en “partner” og betoner Kina i højere grad som en “rival”. For eksempel har EU-Kommissionen for nyligt promoveret “de-risking” for at reducere Europas påståede afhængighed af Kina i visse økonomiske sektorer. USA’s “afkoblingsstrategi” søger at afskære Kina fra de teknologiske forsyningskæder. Og den tyske regering har erklæret Kina for en sikkerhedsrisiko og arbejder på en plan om at indføre import- og eksportkontrol, investeringsbarrierer og andre sanktioner mod Kina. 

Kina understreger på den anden side, at hvis landene ønsker at reducere risikoen, bør de handle mere med Kina. Hvad er mulighederne og potentialerne ved disse to synspunkter? Vestlige sanktioner mod russiske energiråvarer og varer har allerede vist den modsatte effekt og har i høj grad givet bagslag for Europa. Vil de vestlige ledere lære af denne fiasko og forhindre endnu en alvorlig fejlvurdering? 

I realiteten er Kina verdens vigtigste handels- og produktionscenter, og dets Bælte- og VejInitiativ bringer infrastrukturudvikling til de fleste lande, der har et behov for det. Vil Vesten reflektere over dette faktum og skabe et nyt paradigme for fredeligt win-win-samarbejde? Da den vestlige “fortælling” ikke levner plads til en sådan debat, ønsker vi at skabe en platform, hvor en bred alliance af internationale tænkere, iværksættere og politiske strateger kan føre en offentlig dialog.

June 7, 2023 (EIRNS)—Preliminary report on the June 7 Schiller Institute Webinar: “What Are the Risks of the West’s ‘China Strategy’”?

Stephan Ossenkopp, moderator, made some initial observations. During the last few days, the head of the BND has alleged that 40,000 Chinese students in Germany could potentially be working as spies. Authorities will closely monitor cooperation in the scientific and high-tech fields. G7 will monitor investments by member nations in China, and the EU has announced sanctions on companies which are allegedly helping Russia.

Helga: She commented on what she called an ominous new word, “de-risking.” “What is at stake is much more than the economic relation between Europe and China; it is the existence of Germany as an industrial state.” The “North” (the Atlantic nations plus Japan) is going not only against China, but against the BRICS and de facto against the entire Global South. She agrees with Malaysia’s Mahathir that this leads to WWIII. Concerning the situation in Germany, she marveled at “the amazing lack of interest” by the German government in investigating the sabotage of Nordstream. She reported a number of devastating statistics for the German economy, including that up to 46% of German industrial companies are considering relocation to US or China. She sees an impending systemic crisis, because the essential problem went unresolved in 2008. BRI gives 150 nations their first opportunity to realize their innate right to overcome poverty and underdevelopment. The Chinese economy is the world’s true growth engine. “President Lula heralded the new development bank headquartered in Shanghai as the coming great bank of the Global South.” “For Germany and other European nations, a positive future without cooperation with the Global South is impossible.”

Prof. Zhang Jun: The West tries to isolate China, but China can sustain its economic development by itself if necessary, including developing its own technologies to replace those being denied to it by the West (which may not be a bad thing; in the long run, this will prompt China to speed up its R&D.) Likewise, Western nations can find an alternative to the supply chain of China, but it will come with a high cost.

Ole Döring: He lamented the “serious, unprecedented, unfortunate and entirely unnecessary confrontation” between the West and China. Speaking of the West: “After 1989, they have entered a mind-zone called The End of History.” He referenced Immanuel Kant: “Concepts without experience are empty; experiences without concepts are blind.” He went on to say that “Contextual concepts such as race, gender and even culture have been deprived of their real meaning and have become weaponized.” “The Tower of Babel is crumbling once again.” “The West needs fresh input of realism and pragmatism in order to regain a humanistic balance. Such input can come from peoples and cultures who are eager to learn, and willing and able to share. Obviously, this makes China the number one choice as an ally….”
Döring approvingly quoted a German business leader who called for culture, science, or youth exchange with China. “However, if we use the wrong terms to describe ourselves and each other, we run a high risk, we get stuck in the past, we misjudge each other, and create avoidable misunderstandings…. Those who define human relationships as systems cut into their own flesh.”

Charles Liu: “It’s not just China, it’s the growth of Asia, the swing from the West to the East,” which “had China at its core.” “What we had in China, was the building of the most sophisticated, and the most modern, supply chain, and the logistics system, that exists in the world today.” He quoted Deng Xiaoping: “To get wealthy, you have to build a road first.” What China wants, is not to hear preaching from Europe about political correctness. China wants peace and stability, so that everybody can develop and benefit. Europe risks totally becoming a vassal of the Americans, and missing the boat of the BRI and the many benefits it brings.

Final remarks:
Ole Döring: Another “take home” from Kant: freedom means responsibility. There is no human being without education. Can we combine Kant and Confucius for education?

Charles Liu: Decoupling, interruption of supply chain, will cause social disorder, downgrading of living standards all over the world. Even without WWIII we could have a mess all over the world.

Helga: This moment of hope, when we could have a new era for mankind, could be ruined by de-risking/decoupling. Confucius’s image of “the sage” and Schiller’s Beautiful Soul are compatible visions of what is needed. Young Chinese are interested in Europe’s classical culture, we need to make the interest mutual.