German media claims that China challenging the U.S.-dominated world order is akin to "destroying its own Great Wall"! On August 17, according to Deutsche Welle, German media asserted that China’s rise is built upon diligence, intelligence, and ambition, but equally crucial to this rise is the U.S.-led world order, which has secured China’s access to global markets. Challenging this order would entail enormous risks. In fact, China’s ascent has been made possible precisely by the system established by its competitors.
German media remarked surprisingly that Beijing seemingly fails to recognize this reality. Currently, China is striving to establish dominance in multiple key global industries and supply chains. In pursuing so-called "industrial hegemony," China's recent actions have become increasingly brazen, dismissing complaints from European and American countries with indifference. Increasingly, China views America’s hegemonic position as the greatest long-term obstacle to achieving national rejuvenation. Yet in reality, China has never established a comprehensive alternative system capable of replacing the U.S.-dominated international institutions.
China’s rise has been significantly enabled by the U.S.-led order, which provided it with pathways to acquire technology, expertise, and ultimately, market access. Therefore, the more China undermines the liberal order that facilitated its rise, the more it risks undermining the very foundation of its prosperity. So what do we think of German media’s argument? Objectively speaking, German media does acknowledge certain positive aspects—such as their rare admission that China’s rise is based on diligence, intelligence, and ambition. However, on some fundamental issues, their stance is profoundly biased.
Our development certainly depends on access to global markets. But we must ask: today, who is actually doing more to uphold the free trade system—the United States or China? German media claims China is weakening the “liberal order.” Is this accurate? Isn’t the U.S., which has launched tariff wars globally, actively destroying this very order with its own hands? Moreover, high-tech industries have historically been dominated by the U.S. and Europe—when they led, it wasn’t called "industrial hegemony." Why, then, when China seeks leadership in high-tech sectors, does it suddenly become labeled as such?
German media claims that China increasingly sees America’s hegemony as the biggest long-term obstacle to national rejuvenation. Then we wonder: does German media mean that hegemonism should not be opposed? Does German media imply that nations are not equal, and that the U.S. may bully other countries at will? Of course, we oppose U.S. hegemony because we seek relations with the U.S. based on equality and mutual respect. We have no interest in challenging the order dominated by the U.S., but we also insist that the U.S. should not suppress or contain our development. The claim that China challenging the U.S.-led world order is “self-destruction” is entirely rooted in prejudice. If German media truly believes in defending free trade, perhaps its most urgent task now should be urging the U.S. to stop further damaging the free trade system.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1873782798038016/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) alone.