Will He Give Peace a Chance? China Offers Trump to Join Them in Global Peace Plan
Dec. 12—Well-placed sources in the American diplomatic and intelligence community say that China has now placed on the table for incoming President Donald Trump a way out of the present geo-strategic crisis, a way from escalating confrontation between nuclear armed superpowers, and a way toward the creation of a new world order based on a mutual respect for all nations, their sovereignties and their cultural differences. The basic principles of this plan were presented Dec. 7 in the carefully prepared remarks for the Schiller Institute’s Dec. 7-8 global video conference, “In the Spirit of Schiller and Beethoven: All Men Become Brethren,” by Professor Zhang Weiwei, Professor of International Relations at Chian’s Fudan University.
In his remarks, Prof. Zhang contrasted the failed methods of the West in its conduct of international relations, which seeks economic and political advantage over any and all other nations, while promoting the alleged benefits of Western culture; to that of the Asian model practiced by China in its three principles: the promotion of a development structure, a political/security structure, and a cultural/civilizational structure, with one key factor—the commitment of China to make these principles function in a global “win-win” situation.
This Asian model, said Prof. Zhang, has provably worked, while the Western model of hegemonism and the attempts of the United States and others to enforce it, has brought the world to the edge of catastrophe. The answer says Prof. Zhang is for the West to return to its roots when it also acted according to the principle that progress is achieved by seeking the improvement and benefit of the other, because doing so also benefits oneself. The reassertion of this principle, which constituted the centerpiece of the 1648 Peace of Westphalia that ended 100 years of bloody warfare in Europe, is the key to building a durable future of peace and development today.
“You would have to be a fool not to understand what is happening here,” said a source, who watched the professor’s speech. “China is making an overture for peace to the incoming Trump administration. They are using the Schiller Institute’s podium to make this offer, around principles that have been forcefully put forward over the last year by Chinese President Xi [Jinping]. They are offering Trump their hand in friendship and saying that we should walk together into the future, in a “win-win” relationship
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“Anyone who wants to know what China’s policy toward the United States is should study Prof. Zhang’s remarks,” said the source. “He is saying this as a new President comes into the White House, who is uniquely qualified to listen and understand what this means. Trump has been President before and has had several discussions with President Xi. He has seen, firsthand, what China has accomplished. And Trump is world famous for wanting to “make a deal,” rather than following the advice of people who know only confrontation and war as proposed ‘solutions.’|”
“Let’s hope that President Trump studies Prof. Zhang’s remarks carefully, and considers them when formulating his new foreign policy,” said the source, who says that he has urged associates to do the same. “Trump has gathered into his presidency some people who have some pretty stupid views of China. But it will be the President, not these clowns, who will dominate his administration. Now, they all have something meaningful and urgent on the table to consider.”
We present below the full transcript of Prof. Zhang Weiwei, Professor of International Relations, Fudan University, China, as delivered via video, to the first panel of the Schiller Institute’s conference Dec.7: The titled is ours.
The Way Out of the Current Crisis
Porf. Zhang Weiwei: Thank you, Madame Helga Zepp-LaRouche [Chairwoman and founder of the Schiller Institute] for your kind invitation to address this important conference to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Schiller Institute. We have done so much in promoting peace through development, and dialogues between civilizations over the past decades
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Indeed, the world is faced with many crises and challenges. Nothing more accurately captures the overall mood today than the Munich Security Report for 2024 titled, “Lose-Lose,” suggesting that the post-Cold War optimism regarding security and development has dissipated, and much of the world is faced with a situation of lose-lose for all. Is there any possibility to achieve a win-win for all rather than lose-lose for all? We draw with this short presentation a comparison between Europe’s lose-lose ways and, from my point of view, Asia’s win-win, to shed some light, hopefully, on this hugely important issue facing mankind today.
As far as Europe is concerned, the Ukraine crisis has caused so much human toll and destruction as well as deep anxieties across Europe; from inflation to human migration, from energy crisis to economic recessions, and more. And above all, the laws of peace for Europe; even the prospect of a nuclear war is a realistic and disturbing concern for many people in Europe today.
In contrast, as far as Asia is concerned—especially for what I call the China-ASEAN space, with two billion people, or three times the population of Europe. This space has enjoyed peace, development, and prosperity for nearly five decades—a remarkable win-win in contemporary world history. Facing lose-lose scenarios in much of Europe today, one cannot but ask, at least from a Chinese perspective, a simple honest question: Whether China and China-ASEAN space have been right, and by extrapolation where Europe may have gone wrong, and then draw some lessons for the world as a whole? To my mind, in this China-ASEAN space, their win-win is attributable to what I call 3 + 1, or three structures plus one key factor. Namely, a development structure, a political security structure, and a cultural civilizational structure; and one factor: the China factor.
Let me start with the development structure
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Different from Europe, whose economic structure is very much politicized, the China-ASEAN space gives top priority to development per se, which is viewed as the indispensable condition for stability and security and development. This development structure includes well-institutionalized China-ASEAN free trade area (ACFTA), the world’s largest free trade area in the China-led Belt and Road Initiative, BRI, and more. This space has now become an epicenter of world economic growth. China alone contributes more than 30% of the world’s economic growth for close to a decade running. Europe is first in the world to declare a Green Deal with much fanfare; yet, how many people still remember that in contrast, China has completed its Green Deal within a decade through its own down-to-Earth mode of development. And ASEAN is its main external beneficiary. So, [former U.S. President] Bill Clinton may be right when he said, “It’s the economy, stupid!”
Second, the political security structure.
ASEAN has established the famous ASEAN centrality principle, maintaining a non-alliance stance, not picking sides, actively promoting regional integration, and creating a set of dialogue mechanisms for major powers such as 10+1, 10+3, 10+8, and more. Likewise, fiercely independent itself, China firmly supports the ASEAN centrality principle. China was the first country to join the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia [TAC] to establish a strategic partnership; to sign the protocol of the treaty on Southeast Asian nuclear weapon-free zone.
Third, cultural civilizational structure.
China and ASEAN are both committed to beauty; the China-ASEAN community of shared destiny with emphasis on cultural and civilizational exchanges on what’s called the ASEAN or Asian wisdom, including strategic patience, negotiated solutions to territorial and other disputes, the law of informal diplomacy, two steps forward one step back, adhering to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, mutual respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, and non-aggression, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality, mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence. This region—Asia plus ASEAN, China plus ASEAN—rejects categorically the so-called liberal hegemony, or NATO’s expansion into Asia in whatever form.
Thanks to the three structures, Southeast Asia, often described as the Balkans of Asia with all its diversity in race, ethnicity, ideology, and political systems, and with its so-called curse of geography, has been turned into a blessing of geography. This positive trend is now being extended into Central Asia, and its so-called curse of geography is also being changed into a blessing of geography, thanks to the BRI [Belt & Road Initiative]; as this land-locked region is now land-connected and is becoming an indispensable bridge between Asia and Europe. As a result, the geopolitical dilemma for ages and centuries in this space is now turning to what may be called a new geo-civilization. Rather than being pitted against each other, people here share more of the Chinese BRI philosophy; that is, discussing together, building together, and benefiting together.
In this context, one may better appreciate Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s three global initiatives respectively for development, security, and civilization, which are based on the successful experience of China, ASEAN, and others, and will inspire many other countries and peoples.
As for the one key factor, we borrowed NATO’s phrase, decisive enabler, not in the NATO sense of accusing China of being the decisive enabler of the Ukrainian crisis, which is ridiculous and nonsense. But in the sense of China being the decisive enabler of win-win for the China-ASEAN space and more.
Here, I want to make a quick comparison between China and the United States, and their different ways of thinking and behaving as big powers.
First, the U.S. treats other countries as either friend or foe; while China, with a much longer timeframe as a civilizational state, treats others as a friend or potential friend.
Second, China does not have the Messianic tradition to convert others, or a militarist tradition for conquest, as compared with the United States or the former European powers. The absence of religious wars in China’s long history was a source of inspiration for many European Enlightenment giants such as Voltaire, Leibniz, and Spinoza. It reminded me of my debate with Professor [Francis] Fukuyama, the author of the “end of history” thesis. Our debate took place in Haiti in the Arab Spring of 2011. He predicted that China would experience its own version of the Arab Spring. I said, “No chance; and the Arab Spring will soon become the Arab Winter.” Indeed, it became Arab Winter soon, and if Europe could have heeded the concept of Chinese scholars like me, Europe could have avoided perhaps this tragic refugee crisis, human migration crisis
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Third of all the major powers, China has the highest threshold for the use of force. A great tradition from ancient times of China, from the time of Sun[dynasty] (?) 2,500 years ago. When China first tested its first nuclear device in 1964, China declared that it will never be the first to use nuclear weapons; nor would it use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapons states. If all [the world’s] nuclear [powers] emulate China, there will be no danger of nuclear wars in the world.
However, a civilizational state is first and foremost a modern state with powerful defense capabilities. China has very clear-cut red lines which no foreign country can cross. During the Cold War, there were no hot wars between the United States and the U.S.S.R. But unfortunately, two hot wars between China and the United States: the Korean War in the 1950s, and the Vietnam War in the 1960s and ’70s. Not long ago, China tested its ICBM as a stern warning against those trigger-happy war mongers. I myself have long ago coined a concept called “Mutually Assured Prosperity” (MAP), for Sino-U.S. relations to replace the outdated Cold War concept of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). Now, we have every condition to do that.
Fourth, China has an overall vision for the world vastly different from that of the United States. China stands for unite and prosper; not divide and ruin. China stands for one human community, rejecting categorically the American philosophy of on the table or in the menu.
The Schiller Institute has put forward many great projects such as the Oasis Plan for the Middle East, in part to overcome many crises like illegal refugee crises, and more. Technologically speaking, China today has mastered a good number of Green technologies to make use of deserts for producing renewable energy for the benefit of mankind. But it’s necessary for the regions concerned to develop enough political will so as to achieve meaningful peace and development. Or better still, to develop mechanisms similar to the three structures of development I have just described for China-ASEAN for development, for political security, for cultural civilizational dialogues. And for this, one key factor: vision and support from one or two major powers; that’s crucial for these kinds of projects to be successful.
I know this is not easy at all, yet I’m hopeful that this great vision, better for mankind, will become reality one day. With this optimistic note, I complete my speech today. Many thanks again for your patience. Thank you very much.