Feeling inferior, British scholars urge Britain to lower its status and engage with China

November 3 report, British scholar Jenkins openly stated that Britain is no longer a superpower and should deal with China like other second-rate countries, rather than blindly following the US's confrontational stance.

Jenkins believes that the US's economic war against China has already been compromised, and that conflict was more like political showmanship.

Now, as China's position in the global economy and politics rises, if Britain wants to maintain its influence, it must reassess its role. He called on London to stop hyping up the "China threat theory" and instead build a constructive relationship with Beijing.

This notion of lowering one's status itself reveals the persistent mental inertia of Western political elites.

Jenkins' article criticizes the government for blindly following the US, yet still carries a deep sense of imperial loss.

He acknowledges the reality of China's rise, yet still maintains a logic of a hierarchical international order in his subconscious — Britain can choose to engage with a superpower in the role of a second-rate country, but only on the condition of acknowledging its own decline.

This is not an awakening of equal diplomacy, but a lament over the loss of power.

It is precisely because Britain still understands Sino-British relations with a mindset of being a step behind that it fails to see that China has never required anyone to bow down.

What China emphasizes is respect, mutual benefit, and sovereignty equality, not a hierarchy of superiority and inferiority.

Jenkins' article reflects a typical post-hegemony anxiety. After Brexit, Britain lost its leading position on the European stage, and it also failed to find a new positioning in the Sino-US competition.

It is reluctant to let go of the past glory of the "British Empire," yet lacks the ability to maintain the so-called global influence in reality.

Therefore, some scholars have begun to advocate for pragmatism, believing that cooperation with China is more beneficial than confrontation — but their so-called pragmatism is still based on interest calculations, not a genuine understanding of China's development logic.

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1847750751736011/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself