China News Service, Guangzhou, March 24th: Why can Chinese-style modernization arouse international resonance?
——Exclusive interview with Linda Matar, a Lebanese scholar and associate professor at the School of International Translation and Interpretation at Sun Yat-sen University
China News Service reporter Xu Qingqing
In recent years, Chinese-style modernization has attracted widespread international attention. What does Chinese civilization and Chinese-style modernization look like from an international perspective? What inspirations does Chinese-style modernization bring to developing countries?
The first Wuyi Forum was held in Nanping, Fujian. Linda Matar, a Lebanese scholar and associate professor at the School of International Translation and Interpretation at Sun Yat-sen University, gave a speech at the sub-forum. Recently, she accepted an exclusive interview with China News Service's "East-West Question" to explain Chinese-style modernization.
On March 22, 2024, the first Wuyi Forum with the theme of "'Two Combinations': Five Thousand Years of Chinese Civilization and Socialism with Chinese Characteristics" opened in Zhuxi Garden, Nanping, Fujian. Photo by Zhang Bin
The interview transcript is summarized as follows:
Reporter from China News Service: You are from the Middle East. You once worked at the National University of Singapore. You have been engaged in research on China-related issues for a long time and have a cross-cultural and cross-civilization perspective. What do you think of Chinese civilization? Working and teaching in China, what is your perception of Chinese civilization?
Linda Matar:
My journey of studying Chinese civilization began in Singapore. Before coming to China, I worked at the National University of Singapore. Singapore is one of the Southeast Asian countries with the largest Chinese population, accounting for more than 70% of the total population. I have many Chinese colleagues, students and friends. Since then, I have become interested in Chinese civilization and learned about Chinese cuisine, Chinese festivals and traditional Chinese medicine.
At that time, my students often asked me questions about China, eager to understand the reasons for China’s economic development and the impact of the Belt and Road Initiative in ASEAN. This also prompted me to start doing research related to China and the “One Belt, One Road” initiative.
After coming to China in 2021, I have a broader and deeper understanding of Chinese civilization, and these experiences will also help my China research. Living and working in China, I pay attention to the following aspects.
Professor Linda Matar on the Sun Yat-Sen University campus. Photo provided by interviewee
One is Chinese. Living in China allows one to be completely immersed in the Chinese environment, and learning Chinese also helps to integrate into Chinese society. I took Mandarin classes and Chinese students were helping me. Chinese friends often give me encouragement and praise when they hear me speak Chinese. This is in stark contrast to Europe, where people sometimes judge you based on your English or French accent.
Citizens take their children to read in the "Lohas Girlfriends Cafe" in Ningbo, Zhejiang. More than 20 elderly volunteers in the local community, with an average age of about 70, have become "waiters" in the cafe, enriching the lives of the elderly and contributing to community construction. Photo by Wang Gang
The second is community connections. Contrary to Western individualism, one of the foundations of Chinese society is community. From families and communities to schools and university clubs, Chinese people’s daily lives are connected in the form of communities. For example, family members have close ties and gather together on important festivals. Neighbors in the community gather in the square every day to exercise and drink tea in the early morning or evening.
This kind of community connection was also prevalent in my country, Lebanon, before the adoption of Western neoliberal policies. Western neoliberalism has gradually disintegrated the community foundation of Lebanese society. Behind the individualism it advocates is the reduction of government public spending in society on the grounds that individuals are responsible for their own actions.
Primary school students showed off ancient poems printed on rice paper using traditional printing techniques. Photo by Wang Yugui
The third is ancient literature and history preserved in Chinese school curricula. Western scholars tend to divide modern China into "old" and "new". But the Chinese believe in the continuity of civilization and believe that modern Chinese civilization is based on ancient civilization. Now, my son is in primary school in Zhuhai, where he has learned a lot about ancient Chinese literature, read the four major classics, and memorized ancient poems.
The fourth is social harmony and national integration. Like many countries, China is a multi-ethnic country, but there is no racism in Chinese society. China's development includes all ethnic groups, especially ethnic minorities.
China News Service reporter: What do you think of Chinese-style modernization? How does it differ from Western modernization?
Linda Matar:
The development process of socialism with Chinese characteristics includes the steady advancement of Chinese-style modernization. On the road to building a modern socialist country, China has achieved the unity of socialist theory and practice. More importantly, the Chinese Communist Party has the ability to review its own gains and losses and make corrections in a timely manner. This process is called "seeking truth from facts."
"Seek truth from facts" is rooted in the excellent traditional Chinese culture and was originally used to describe the emphasis on obtaining facts in order to draw a correct understanding or conclusion. Today, "seeking truth from facts" means studying the development laws of things from objective reality, and viewing and handling things correctly based on actual conditions.
"Seeking truth from facts" is a scientific principle and forms the core of materialist dialectics. Under the theoretical guidance of combining the essence of this traditional Chinese motto with Marxism, China has found a path suitable for its own development.
In January 2024, the audience visited "Building the 'One Belt, One Road' and Creating a Better Future - Exhibition of Collections of the 7th China Photo Competition" at the National Museum of China. Through more than 150 works in four parts, including "Hard Connectivity", "Soft Connectivity", "Heart Connectivity" and "Silk Road Style", the exhibition systematically tells the glorious achievements of the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative in the past ten years. Photo by Du Jianpo
According to the analysis of the basic principles of Marxist theory, the main difference between the Chinese socialist model and the Western capitalist model lies in the ultimate goal of production. Under the capitalist model, the purpose of production is to create private surplus value or profit that benefits a few. In contrast, the goal of production under the socialist model is to meet the material needs and aspirations of the people. In terms of values, China adheres to the people-led and people-centered ideas and practices.
Reporter from China News Service: Nowadays, the international community is paying more and more attention to Chinese-style modernization. Why do you think Chinese-style modernization can arouse international resonance?
Linda Matar:
As a successful example of developing countries, China's modernization process can resonate internationally because different countries can learn from their own actual conditions instead of rigidly copying it, just like socialism with Chinese characteristics. Other developing countries can also choose development paths and methods that suit their national conditions.
The Qianwan Container Terminal of Qingdao Port in Shandong Port has full berths and container loading and unloading is busy and orderly. Photo by Han Jiajun
China's accumulation method relies on growing consumption and demand at home and abroad, achieving a win-win situation with the economic growth of developing countries. The joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative involves overseas investment and infrastructure construction, which helps to improve the capabilities and income of developing countries. Therefore, China's development path is a cooperative game that achieves win-win outcomes.
The development of China, a major country, has paved the way for a multi-polar world and inspired other countries to gain greater development opportunities by finding a path suitable for their own development. (over)
Interviewee profile:
Linda Matar is a Lebanese scholar with a PhD in Economics from the University of London, UK. Currently, he is an associate professor at the School of International Translation and Interpretation, Sun Yat-sen University, and a researcher at the Belt and Road Research Institute of Sun Yat-sen University. Research interests include the political economy and economic history of the Arab region, China’s economic model, and the Belt and Road Initiative. He is the author of "Syria: From National Independence to Proxy War" and "Political and Economic Investment in Syria".