During President Xi Jinping's 2015 address at the Commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of Victory of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and World Anti-Fascist War, he said, "Let us bear in mind the great truth of history: Justice will prevail. Peace will prevail. The people will prevail."
This should be the beliefs and principles of China.
There are two slogans in Tiananmen Square, "Long Live the People's Republic of China" and "Long Live the Great Unity of the World's Peoples." The slogans represent the core of Chinese diplomacy and are in line with the UN Charter. This explains why Xi mentioned many times in different occasions over China's commitment to the principles of the UN Charter.
The Chinese government has always abided by the UN Charter. China loves peace and treats all nations equally.
The US is China's partner and troublesome rival. I worked in the US for many years, and had visited all 50 states. However, some US politicians have never read the UN Charter, although the UN is headquartered in New York city. And even though they have read the charter, only a few abide by it. Thus, the US tends to bullies smaller countries.
China should focus on its path. Is China afraid of the trade war? Of course not. China is not even afraid of hot war, like the Korean War in 1950s, even though China was a poor country at that time.
Now, China is stronger. It is the second-largest economy in the world. But it has remained rational during the ongoing trade war.
China does not want the trade war, but if it is unavoidable, the country is not afraid.
I began working for the Chinese Foreign Ministry in 1964. I believe that a developing country which loves peace and justice is bound to have a rival. It is not realistic to hope there will never be a rival.
The US is the rival and it is sowing discord between China and its neighboring countries, including Vietnam and North Korea.
If the US ruins trade relations with China, it would also suffer. Now, a trend has emerged. Some Americans have lost their jobs. As long as the Chinese economy develops in an innovative and coordinated way, China's future will remain bright. By then, the US would have no alternative but to focus on developing trade relations with other countries. That being said, against the backdrop of the trade war, I am confident in China's future.
Based on my years in the US, I have found that most Americans are great people. Only a few anti-China politicians try to rope in others, win votes, and play tricks once they are elected. Most Americans I've met are reasonable.
The China-US trade war and economic disputes between China and other countries are hard to avoid. The only thing China can do is to focus on our long march toward the goal of rejuvenation.
The article was complied based on a speech by Li Zhaoxing, former Chinese foreign minister, during a conference on the book Great Power's Long March Road: The views of China's rejuvenation and the future of the world after hundred countries' visit written by Wang Wen, executive dean of the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China.
