3 December 2010
The ancient Chinese philosophy of Tao, the path of harmony with nature and oneself, may seem an odd philosophy to mention during a week of diplomatic anxiety about WikiLeaks. However, as many foreign policy experts have stressed, while the leaks may cause short-term frictions, long-term national interests are probably bound to prevail. Indeed, the real challenge is to recognise national and European interests so that one may pursue them.
Since WikiLeaks has focused so much on the United States and its relationships with the rest of the world, the attention has been taken off China. Even prior to the WikiLeaks affair, the attention on the country tended to be from an American point of view, on what the US thought China ought to be doing economically to help the American recovery.
In the media, at least, there has not been enough focus on China’s role as an international actor in its own right, that has taken various initiatives that are constructive. Some news came out about the Chinese initiatives to help resolve the crisis between the two Koreas. However, China has also played a role in aiding Greece in its current economic difficulties.
Perhaps it is time for Europe, its media and politicians, to take a more European view of relations with China.
I have a personal memory of visiting China for the first time, back in June 1994. I was later to visit it again on political business, which was very instructive. However, a far greater impression was left on me by that first visit. This was because I approached mainland China from Macao, a longstanding Chinese territory that was, for a time, a Portuguese colony.
The European imprint had been left in many ways on Macao just as China, over the last several centuries of European history, has had a deep impact on European culture and technological development. It may not be so recognised at the moment. My reading in European history, however, has led me to be fascinated by the cycles of Sinophilia (love of things Chinese) and Sinophobia (fear of things Chinese).
Phobia is to be avoided, of course. So is a love that is irrational and unthinking. In my view, it would be just as much a mistake to make China sound too exotic. Of course, it is a different civilisation, with its own traditions of science, medicine, art, etc. This is why we have so much to learn from it. To make something feel too exotic, however, is to continue to treat it as remote from our everyday concerns.
In other words, it would be to continue to treat China like the country of “The Forbidden City”, the old palace complex of the Ming and Qing dynasties, and must-see for tourists in Beijing, and a UNESCO world heritage site. I found its grandeur breathtaking. It made my knowledge of Chinese history come to life. The loneliness of life in the palace, the regimentation of how the various senior officials of the Chinese empire could meet each other, also taught me something new about politics.
What it did not teach me, however, was anything terribly interesting about contemporary China. The Forbidden City is part of the past, not the present. I suspect it is as exotic to modern Chinese, although probably in a different way than it is for us Europeans.
Europe should not engage with China like a tourist. The right approach, I believe, would resemble that of Dom Mintoff’s far-sightedness, back in the early 1970s, when he engaged the People’s Republic economically and culturally. With the self-confidence of a politician who knew that even tiny Malta could offer something important to the giant.
Every such engagement has its delicate aspects. One of them is to impose one’s own vision on the relationship to the extent no dialogue actually takes place.
The 18th and 19th centuries were periods when Europe did engage with China. Unfortunately, the relations were largely imperialistic, with European powers seeking to impose their own will. It was a relationship that poisoned many years that were to follow.
Nevertheless, the cultural impact on Europe, coming from China, was still immense. Those readers who have an interest in interior decoration will be aware of what is called “chinoiserie”, Chinese-inspired wallpaper, paintings, drapery and dinner services. Indeed, I suspect that many Maltese households will have one or two items of inherited “china” or decorative plates with a weeping willow motif. Such was the general impact on European culture, even at a time when the relationship could hardly be called healthy!
So imagine what the relationship could be like if it is really constructive. For that to happen, of course, we would need politicians who can engage with China from a European point of view, as well as media that do not think of the country as on the margins of European interest.
