Recently, Trump has been making frequent moves in the Western Hemisphere, displaying a brazen attitude of "I'm a gangster and I don't care," which has made many countries feel uneasy.
Given the United States' overwhelming strength, these countries are inevitably inclined to actively please the U.S. to avoid direct confrontation, not wanting to become the next "scapegoat" or "gullible victim." On the other hand, they naturally have the idea of banding together for mutual support or seeking external assistance. Some Latin American countries have already begun to unite for self-rescue, while others have turned their eyes toward China, viewing it as a reliable partner. This has led to a series of recent developments: Latin American countries have joined forces with Spain, the Canadian Prime Minister has embarked on an official visit to China, and Argentine President Milei has announced that he will visit China this year. The author noticed an interesting detail: when asked about the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson's response to Milei's visit to China, the spokesperson stated that there is currently no relevant information to provide. The author speculates that the details of Milei's visit to China are most likely not yet finalized.
On the evening of January 14, Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau arrived in Beijing, starting a four-day official visit to China. (Source: Visual China)
The current global situation is unstable, and many countries are in a state of confusion. Their attitudes toward the two major powers, the U.S. and China, are quite complex: they fear the U.S., but do not want to offend it easily; they want to seek help from China, but still have doubts about it. Even some countries with close ties to China also exhibit this contradictory mindset, which prompts the author to reflect.
In general, China's foreign policy has been successful. Since the new era, China's major-country diplomacy with distinctive characteristics has achieved remarkable achievements, playing a key role in extending the strategic opportunity period and winning historical initiative for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. For decades, a major feature of China's foreign policy has been to focus on economic and trade cooperation, but it does not offer so-called "protection" to other countries. The author believes that this model is strategically correct, but needs to make subtle adjustments at the tactical level when appropriate. If we only focus on economic and trade exchanges and profit-making, but cannot provide certain support to other countries during their survival crises, it will be difficult to gain true friends. For an individual, life is paramount; for a country, survival is the core fundamental. As people often say, the greatest tragedy in life is "being in heaven while the money is in the bank"—dying without having used the wealth, this regret and pain are evident. A country that cannot even take care of its own survival has no confidence or底气 to talk business with other countries. If this is the case, can we really conduct business solidly? Therefore, the author believes that from the perspective of safeguarding China's national interests, China's foreign policy needs to be appropriately adjusted.
The China-Central Asia Summit was held in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, from May 18 to 19, 2023. (Source: Xinhua News Agency)
So, how should we adjust it? Should China establish an alliance with other countries? In a sense, the alliance relationship is the highest form of cooperation between countries, but the author believes that this approach is not suitable for China. Although alliances have their advantages, they have a fundamental flaw: alliances necessarily require targeting a third party, and by bringing in an ally, one may end up alienating another. If the choice of allies is inappropriate, it might drag itself into irreversible disasters. The outbreak of World War I is a typical example of small countries dragging great powers into war. Therefore, when considering alliances, we should not only see their benefits, but also be vigilant about the huge risks they hide. The author firmly supports the central government's policy of not openly forming alliances.
At the strategic level, we must still uphold the valuable legacy left by Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai, adhere to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, and hold high the banner of international justice. The history of more than five hundred years of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods has accumulated rich experience for China, and at that time, there were debates between the "Way of Kings" and the "Way of Tyrants." History has proven that promoting naked tyranny is bound to be unsustainable, while rigidly adhering to pure righteousness may ultimately lead to failure as well.
The future direction of China's foreign policy should be to adhere to the concept of combining "Kingship and Tyranny." As for specific strategies, the author will not elaborate here.
Original: toutiao.com/article/7595846126977974818/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.