Source: Rising Tide Foundation

The Spirit of Win-Win Cooperation: 15-19th Century Diplomatic Success of China – Shaoqian Zhang

9 December 2019

Although it is well known that China has become the world’s largest and fastest growing economy in the world- outpacing the USA since the unveiling of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, it is too often forgotten that this dominant position is not new, but merely a return to the “normal” state of world affairs characteristic of the 15-19th century which saw China (followed by India) as the two most powerful economies by far on the globe. But is this economic leadership something which should cause fear of a new empire as is so common in the west? Should we believe that a powerful nation state must equal a corrupt/imperial state? As Shaoqian Zhang showcases in his presentation (the 4th lecture in the Rising Tide Foundation event “The Art of the Flank: The New Silk Road Counters an Age of Turbulence”), China’s character as a powerful nation is not something to be feared as many western geo-politicians would have us do. Shaoqian explores the history of China’s philosophy of “win-win cooperation” and Core Confucian virtues as principles which have PRACTICALLY guided China’s relationship to other cultures and nations from the 15th century explorations of Adm. Zheng He to the modern era. He also addresses the important matter of British opium-politics which strategically targeted this economy for destruction throughout the 19th century.