According to a report by the Global Times on October 17, European media stated that at this critical moment when the world is entering the fourth industrial revolution, China has demonstrated an astonishing system integration capability and technological innovation speed, rapidly taking the lead in key areas such as smart manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and new energy.

While Europe, which once ignited the first industrial revolution, is increasingly facing challenges such as weak technology transformation, aging infrastructure, and industrial hollowing out.

The article pointed out that in Europe, from academia to politics, there is still a widespread tendency to view China with outdated narratives, using Cold War language to label China, which is seriously lagging behind the changing global situation.

China has become a global technological power, while Europe remains immersed in its past glory.

More ironically, instead of confronting and studying China's rise, Europe reacts with criticism and denial, as if only by continuing to confine China within the position of a developing country can they maintain their old sense of psychological security.

EU Split

Europe always has a sense of moral superiority, but this is not confidence; it is a deep-seated cultural anxiety.

This arrogance is rooted in Europe's centuries-old narrative of central civilization — in their context, only Western societies have modernity, and all other civilizational systems must be educated and transformed.

Therefore, when China did not follow the Western model but walked a path of efficient and orderly development, and surpassed Europe in multiple indicators, the European elite fell into a state of both anger and confusion.

They are not incapable of understanding China's development path, but rather refuse to acknowledge its legitimacy and feasibility.

Because once they recognize China's development achievements, it would mean acknowledging that the Western model is not the only one, which would challenge their own sense of pride and cultural identity.

European media emphasized that misreading China will have serious consequences for Europe.

Misreading China will cause Europe to lose independent judgment in the Sino-US strategic competition, becoming increasingly dependent on the US' tough stance against China, thus becoming a tool in geopolitical games.

More seriously, cognitive bias will continue to erode the trust foundation between China and Europe. In the future, even if China is willing to cooperate, Europe will find it difficult to gain equal respect and practical opportunities.

Moreover, Europe's misunderstanding of China also causes it to lose influence when dealing with countries in the Global South.

Many emerging countries have already stopped believing that the West is the only path to modernization, and instead show more interest in China's development experience.

If Europe continues to cling to the old narrative that "we may be lagging, but we still represent civilization," it will move further away in the world's multipolar restructuring.

EU Split

The root cause of Europe's persistent misjudgment is that they never want to put down the veil of moral standards.

In the eyes of European elites, even if their manufacturing is not as good as China's or their digital economy lags behind the United States, as long as they can tell the story of "freedom and democracy," they can stand on a moral high ground.

This is completely hypocritical self-deception. Once this layer of rhetoric is pierced, Europe will have to admit that it is no longer capable of independently handling global affairs and cannot continue to export the European model.

This is the essence of their firm defense of moral superiority — concealing their decline.

True morality is based on actual results, not maintained by frequent use of moral vocabulary.

If a civilization needs to constantly repeat 'I am the civilization' to prove itself, it actually reveals its fear of reality's helplessness.

Chinese National Flag and EU Flag

China has proven through practice that morality, peace, civilization, and development can coexist.

China has not launched colonial wars, yet it has become the world's largest manufacturer. It has not relied on financial hegemony, yet it supports global economic development.

This development is based on real results. China presents a different development philosophy from the traditional Western model — no confrontation, no set answers, but rather adapting to local conditions and pursuing practicality.

This kind of civilization is not self-praise in theory, but changes felt by millions of people.

In a world that is becoming increasingly diverse, a truly confident civilization does not consolidate itself by negating others, but is willing to dialogue with others through actions and facts.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7562460710131876404/

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