Writer: Wu Guangqiang
jw368@163.com
THE first official meeting between President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida reconfirmed the long-standing normal relationship between the world’s two largest economies, thus dispelling the previous concerns about the possible confrontation of the two powers.
As Xi put it, “There are a thousand reasons to make the China-U.S. relationship a success, and not a single reason to break it.”
China and the U.S. must cooperate, but the cooperation will never be easy, as the two countries have different ideas about governance and development.
China adheres to the principle of People First while Trump advocates America First. The two slogans sound similar, but they are different in essence.
To the rest of the world, America First means America Only.
At the annual meeting of G20 finance ministers that ended March 13 in Germany, no concrete agreement on free trade and climate change was reached after the U.S. blocked any language that encouraged past commitments on the open flow of goods and services.
Trump has issued executive orders withdrawing the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and ordered a review of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). He has vulgarized his America First policy as “buy American and hire Americans,” typical ideas of parochialism and protectionism.
Internally, America First does not necessary mean benefits for the majority of the people. Trump proposed repealing ObamaCare. If successful, this would leave millions of Americans without medicare again. He has increased military spending dramatically while slashing expenditures on education and scientific research. He even drastically cut down food stamps for children.
As for China’s People First, in a nutshell, the CPC represents and serves the interests of the overwhelming majority of the people, rather than that of certain groups.
In a recent speech, a chief Party official warned against some businesspersons’ attempts to acquire political influence and power. The involvement of businesspersons in politics is a global phenomenon except in China.
The CPC is a genuine party of the people, born out of the people, consisting of the people, and working for the people. The nature of the CPC partly explains why China can achieve sustainable development.
Before the founding of the CPC, there had been a number of political parties or forces that attempted to change the miserable fate of China, but none succeeded, because they did not represent the fundamental interests of the majority. Nor did they have the political will or abilities to carry through the arduous task of seeking the liberation and independence of the nation and the people.
A basic knowledge of China’s modern history displays the truth that without the extraordinary leadership of the CPC, China could not have won independence from the grips of foreign invaders and control of foreign powers, not to mention the building of a strong nation.
It was with the support of the people, especially the grass-roots masses, that the CPC, with a will of steel, and solidarity of rock, achieved seemingly impossible feats one after another. It was under the leadership of the CPC that the Chinese people have acquired an unprecedented national sense of cohesion and pride.
The people are to the CPC what water is to fish. That’s the secret of China’s success and that’s a unique political advantage that China possesses over the West.
With the top leadership’s policies and popular will in unison, China is the only country in the world able to implement long-term and short-term plans with high efficiency and little interference and opposition.
That’s why China has lifted the largest population out of poverty within a mere three decades. That’s also why China has morphed from an agricultural society into an industrial one with the best high-speed railways, super highways and mobile payment systems.
Western doctrines define popular election to be the only way to legitimize a government. But the “universal value” has failed to explain what has happened in China. China’s epic achievements in economic and social development have endowed the CPC with indisputable legitimacy.
China’s People First is also an inclusive policy internationally; China seeks shared development and prosperity with other countries.
Hopefully, People First can work hand in hand with America First.
(The author is an English tutor and freelance writer.)