(Question from East and West) Joseph Nye: "Father of Soft Power": Is China and the United States a "win-win cooperation" or a "zero-sum game"?

　　China News Service, Beijing, May 4, title: "Father of Soft Power" Joseph Nye: Is China and the United States a "win-win cooperation" or a "zero-sum game"?

　　China News Agency reporter Shi Yuanfeng

　　A few days ago, Joseph S. Nye, Jr, a well-known American international political scholar and a professor at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, stated in an online dialogue with the Globalization Think Tank (CCG) that China’s existence does not pose a threat to the United States. Under circumstances, China and the United States should maintain contact, look for opportunities, and establish cooperation.

"Father of Soft Power" Joseph Nye.

Photo courtesy of Global Think Tank.

　　Born in 1937, Joseph Nye served as Assistant Secretary of State in the Carter Administration, Chairman of the National Intelligence Committee and Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Clinton Administration. He taught at Harvard for many years and served as Dean of the Kennedy School of Government. He is a member of the neoliberal school of international relations theory. Representative, influential in the field of US foreign policy.

　　Joseph Nye pointed out that looking back on the history since 1945, China and the United States have gone through a series of changes in their relations, both good and bad. In the 1970s, the relationship between the two countries became warmer under the impetus of "ping-pong diplomacy" and "Nixon's visit to China". After China's reform and opening up, China and the United States have gradually formed a competition and cooperation relationship.

"Maybe by 2035, we will see a cycle in which the two countries develop better relations."

　　Joseph Nye said that no matter how the relationship between the two countries develops in the future, China and the United States need to take action now, abide by the rules, and create a good relationship that leads to a win-win situation.

The picture shows a group photo of the American table tennis team with Chinese personnel in 1971.

(Data Picture) Issued by China News Service

"The Power Transition from West to East"

　　Joseph Nye, 84, wrote in his latest book Is Morality Important?

"The President and Foreign Policy from Roosevelt to Trump" pointed out that although the decoupling of China and the United States in some areas is inevitable, the two sides should maintain consultations and set a "lower limit" to form a "cooperative confrontation" relationship, not a direction. "cold war".

　　Joseph Nye emphasized that one of the core contents of his new book is the two major power transfers of this century. One of them is-the transfer of power from the West to the East will definitely happen in the future, and in the process of the rise of Asian countries, China has played a core role. effect.

　　Another transfer, which Joseph Nye calls a vertical transfer, is that driven by the development of science and technology and the trend of ecological globalization, the power of multinational organizations and other non-governmental organizations has gradually strengthened. "The trend of technology and ecological globalization has attracted more attention. The issues that need to be faced together, especially the cooperation in climate warming and public health, have crossed national borders, and no country or government can deal with it alone."

　　Joseph Nye once said in an interview with the media that there should be two ways of thinking about "power."

One way of thinking is power over others. I want you to do something that you don’t want to do. I will use power to force you to make changes.

Another way of thinking is power with others. You and I both want to achieve something, but neither of us can do it alone. If we cooperate, we can succeed.

And this is the two different types of power that the two power shifting trends emphasized.

"It is not easy to live in a world where we need to control both powers at the same time. Because people tend to be simple and either one or the other, but in fact, both powers must coexist."

Photo by Xin News Agency reporter Jia Tianyong

"China's soft power is very attractive"

　　Joseph Nye published his book "Destined to Lead the World: Changes in the Nature of American Power" more than 30 years ago, and published an article entitled "Soft Power" in the "Foreign Policy" magazine. He was the first to clearly propose and elaborate on "soft power" ( Soft Power), after proposing the concept of "soft power", he successively wrote and published "Hard Power and Soft Power", "Soft Power: The Way to Success in World Politics" and "Soft Power: The Way to Success in World Politics" Other works have supplemented the concept of "soft power".

　　The "soft power" proposed by Joseph Nye refers to the unique attraction of a country to other countries, rather than the use of coercion or bribery to achieve its goals.

Its core philosophy is to enhance the legitimacy and rationality of domestic and foreign policies in the eyes of other countries by enhancing the attractiveness of its own culture, political values ​​and foreign policies.

　　Joseph Nye said that China has many manifestations of soft power, and its long-standing traditional culture is a strong manifestation of soft power.

"The concept of Chinese soft power can be traced back to the time of the ancient Chinese thinker Lao Tzu thousands of years ago. I may have coined the term'soft power', but influencing others by increasing attractiveness comes from ancient Chinese philosophy."

　　Joseph Nye also pointed out that another core element of China's soft power comes from the outstanding performance of the Chinese economy.

"In the past 40 years, China has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, which has been widely praised and has also added attractiveness and influence to China."

　　Joseph Nye emphasized that soft power is not a zero-sum game.

It is crucial for China and the United States to find areas of cooperation between them.

The increase in soft power can help China and the United States bridge differences, seek common ground while reserving differences, and enable both sides to achieve a win-win situation.

　　Joseph Nye believes that China and the United States can cooperate in the future to strengthen the public health foundation of poor countries and the research and development of anti-epidemic vaccines. This will benefit all parties and strengthen the soft power of China and the United States.

China's new crown vaccine on the production line.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Hou Yu

"Cooperate to avoid zero-sum games"

　　Joseph Nye said that an emerging power fears another existing power. This may be the source of conflict, but this may not be the case.

"The growth of China's power is likely to continue, but the United States need not be afraid. China and the United States do not pose a life and death threat to each other. In this sense, the two countries will compete, but each other should restrain fear."

　　Joseph Nye believes that the statement about the "new cold war" between China and the United States is a misunderstanding of history.

He pointed out that compared with the real Cold War period without social interaction and economic dependence, China and the United States today are on the contrary. We have 500 billion US dollars in trade exchanges, and there are more than 3 million Chinese tourists and more than 300,000 students studying abroad.

　　When talking about China and the United States working together to tackle climate change, Joseph Nye pointed out that facing the challenges of climate change and the new crown epidemic, China and the United States should show more leadership.

"China and the United States are interdependent in the entire ecosystem and fight the epidemic together. Behind this is a manifestation of common compliance with the laws of nature and science, rather than politics. If the two countries can meet each other and work together, the dimension of cooperation between the two countries will be As it increases, the world will become more orderly."

　　Joseph Nye believes that, despite the existence of competition and cooperation between China and the United States, only through equal cooperation in multiple fields can we finally achieve a win-win situation.

Climate and anti-epidemic responsibility will also help the United States recover in its soft power.

　　Joseph Nye pointed out that strengthening Sino-US relations, such as exchanges between scholars and restoring students and tourists, is the first priority, and that people-to-people exchanges should be used to enhance communication and understanding between the societies of the two countries.

　　"In such a co-opetitive relationship, the two countries need more communication. What we need to do is to prevent the relationship from becoming a zero-sum game. Cooperation can benefit each other more, and we must maintain this view." Joseph Nye finally said.

(Gao Chuyi participated in the writing of this article)