In the course of the development of Sino-US relations, "Bush" is a name that cannot be avoided.
Bush, the 41st President of the United States, is an old friend of the Chinese people. He has witnessed and promoted the historic development of Sino-US relations for more than 40 years.
The 43rd President of the United States Bush Jr. visited China 4 times during his tenure, setting the highest number of visits to China by any other US president.
Central American flag.
Image source: Visual China
Over the past 40 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, including the two Presidents Bush, the two countries have further deepened and strengthened their exchanges and cooperation in various fields. Although there were twists and turns and difficulties during this period, the overall progress continued.
However, for some time, the China policy adopted by the United States has caused serious difficulties in Sino-US relations.
How should the United States correctly respond to the rise of China?
China News Agency "Ask East-West China-US Dialogue" invited Wang Huiyao, chairman of the Globalization Think Tank (CCG), to start a dialogue with the third son of former US President George W. Bush and the founder and chairman of the George Bush Foundation and Chairman of the US-China Relations.
Neil Bush, who witnessed the vicissitudes of Sino-US relations with his father and brother, believes that there is no system in the world that is universal. All parties should express their supportive values in a mutually respectful manner and seek common ground while reserving differences as much as possible. Cooperate to meet challenges.
Data map: Neil Bush attended the "2019 International Symposium on the Peaceful Use of Space Technology (Health)" held in Zhuhai, Guangdong, China in November 2019.
Photo courtesy of the International Peace Alliance (Space)
The summary of the dialogue record is as follows:
Wang Huiyao: Your first visit to China was in 1975, and you have visited China many times since then. After witnessing the development and tremendous changes in China over the past few years, how do you evaluate the Sino-US relationship that you have witnessed?
Neil Bush:
In 1975, my three brothers and sisters and I visited China for five weeks. We stayed in Beijing for four weeks and then took the train with my mother to Wuxi, Nanjing and Shanghai.
China has experienced incredible development in the past 46 years, and it is a remarkable thing to be able to witness all this as a bystander.
In the China I saw in 1975, people were equally poor. At the end of the "Cultural Revolution" many people were still unable to make free choices. This is obviously unimaginable today.
Looking back 46 years later, if we go back to 1975, I cannot predict or imagine that hundreds of millions of people will be lifted out of poverty in China, the middle class will grow as rapidly as today, and the economy will continue to develop to create new jobs and wealth. People can Enjoying the daily life of freedom, which left a deep impression on me.
I think what makes me different from others is that I have visited China on the spot and have seen China's growth over the years.
I have drawn some profound conclusions: no system is universal, and every country needs to build a system that suits its own national conditions.
China's system is effective for China.
Take a look at the 46 years since I visited China and the results of the 40 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and China, the conclusion is self-explanatory.
Wang Huiyao: Your father and brother are both American presidents from the Republican Party. They have visited China many times and have had many constructive dialogues and exchanges. Unfortunately, in the past few years, especially when Trump, who is also a Republican, became president, Sino-US relations have receded a lot, including the trade war he initiated against China. How do you assess the current Sino-US relations? How can we really improve Sino-US relations and bring them back to normal?
Neil Bush:
A series of similar factors have caused the US to fear the rise of China. This fear is reflected in the increasingly fierce rhetoric towards China during the Trump administration, followed by a retreat and rejection. The isolationist approach to dialogue.
The core view of my father is that the country, family and friends all need to keep in touch with each other in order to better understand each other and put themselves in consideration for each other.
In this way, conflicts can be resolved in a mature manner when they arise.
But we have run counter to this in the past five years or even earlier, and various ideas such as "America First", "Building a Wall", "Anti-Immigration" and "America is the Greatest Country" have also emerged.
And seeing the continuous rise of China's economy, second only to the United States in total, many American politicians are afraid that this will make us lose our leading position.
In addition, in the general environment of the United States, we do not have good information to understand China, so politically, China has become a vulnerable target.
This involves the Thucydides trap.
As an important power in the world, how does the United States respond to the rise of China?
Many U.S. politicians reacted very poorly to this. They believe that China is a threat to the U.S. economy and national security.
But obviously, any bilateral relationship will have problems. There will be problems between the United States and close allies such as France, Germany, and Israel, and there will also be problems with China.
We should try our best to express the values we firmly support in a respectful way, rather than blindly criticizing or demeaning.
The ultimate goal should be to seek common ground while reserving differences as much as possible, and to respond to challenges in a respectful and mature manner.
Regarding imposing tariffs on China, I think this is a very stupid idea.
Tariffs are imposed on American consumers, and it hurts American companies.
Trump and those behind it believe that if the United States has a trade deficit with a country, it must be resolved by raising tariffs and balancing trade.
But the reality is that in global trade, rich countries want to buy low-cost high-quality goods from some countries, but developing countries cannot afford to buy goods from rich countries. Therefore, there is a trade imbalance, which is normal.
The basic course of economics never said that trade imbalances are unnatural, inappropriate, or bad.
On a deeper level, this approach may be aimed at hitting the Chinese economy and making it regress, but it is not logical.
So it is a failed policy and needs to be reversed.
Wang Huiyao: You talked about David Ricardo's theory of comparative advantage. There is also a lot of room for cooperation between China and the United States in technology, finance, and infrastructure. Unfortunately, the entire world is now facing a huge challenge-we will be in the pandemic for a long time. In what areas do you think we should really cooperate?
Neil Bush:
This issue involves some major issues that affect the sustainability of human life on earth, including climate change, food security, and everything related to health.
The epidemic is the most significant and urgent matter at the moment, but due to climate change, we are still facing various natural disasters.
How can we change the process of climate change so that the earth can develop sustainably?
The two largest economies in the world must cooperate on these major issues. It is hard to imagine that these problems can be resolved without the cooperation of the United States and China.
We should learn from each other and take an open attitude to see what other countries have done.
We should share the existing vaccine research and development technology, so that qualified vaccines can be produced all over the world, so that people all over the world can be vaccinated more conveniently and prevent the spread of variant viruses.
All this requires a cooperative environment, but sadly it does not exist today.
I believe that things will change over time, and I am sure that the current US government is already creating more opportunities for exchanges and dialogue.
When both parties can sit down and talk, it will produce good results.
Facing the current serious problems, enhancing understanding and cooperation in response to the epidemic and other health-related matters should become the core of the dialogue.
Data map: Vial vaccine on the production line.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Hou Yu
Wang Huiyao: Regarding the traceability investigation of the new crown virus, there are opinions that political factors have overshadowed scientific factors. How do you think we should get rid of this dilemma? How should China and the United States cooperate to fight the epidemic?
Neil Bush:
I don’t care about the origin of the virus, just like I don’t care about the origin of climate change.
Whether climate change is caused by humans or a natural phenomenon, the fact is that it already exists and we need to address it.
The United States, China, and all countries in the world can play a role in this and work together.
China has pledged to strive to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, and governments at all levels and the private sector will work together to achieve this.
I have no doubt that China will play a major role in cooperation to address climate change issues.
My view on the origin of the virus is the same.
The fact is that we are facing a pandemic that continues to affect the lives of billions of people around the world. All mature and civilized countries in the world urgently need to cooperate.
I reject the crazy idea that the virus is deliberately leaked.
Quickly throw away the conspiracy theory, it doesn't matter where it originated, let's deal with it together.