The world has been witnessing sweeping economic globalization, which is creating diversified interests and structural changes. This new phenomenon also calls for China and the U.S. to lead with reforms where they have more agreement, for example, in the economic and financial areas. The two countries should be able to take the lead to mobilize international coordination and collaboration to improve global governance and keep pace with the trend of globalization.
The post-Cold War economic globalization is characterized by the free flow of capital, technology and market factors from the traditional Western center to the periphery. The U.S. and the West promoted and facilitated the rapid expansion of globalization, from which the emerging countries not only gained but also in return contributed with their own growth. As a result, globalization greatly boosted the expansion of human wealth, benefiting both developed and developing countries alike. But the flaws of globalization have also been increasingly felt and criticized widely for causing inequality, widening gaps and insufficient oversight in the financial systems, thus, fueling the rise of protectionism and populism.
We can regard this as the initial stage of globalization or "globalization 1.0" in its modern sense, which is not yet well regulated. There are already some developments going against the trend of globalization and regional integration. For example, East Asia integration is weakening due to friction among nations in the region; the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is viewed with concerns about its lack of inclusiveness; the "Brexit" has also presented new challenges for the European Union, etc. Obviously, globalization can't be reversed and the world can't retrogress, but its flaws must be addressed. To upgrade to a "globalization 2.0" requires the concerted efforts of all countries, and in particular, for China and the U.S. to take the leadership, in pursuit of a win-win instead of win-and-lose situation. This is also in line with the idea of building a "community of mankind."
For China in particular, it is imperative that we make ourselves better understood by the rest of the world. China has grown from a poverty-stricken country into the world's second biggest economy in a little over 30 years. Compared with the developed countries, China's modernization has been "compressed" to a degree previously unheard of. However, it is not so easy to compress progress in thinking and discourse. We in China must improve our ideas and ways of thinking faster and form a broader international vision, with more effective modes of expression and behavior. In this way, the rest of the world will be able to better appreciate our culture and the reasons why we talk and act the way we do. This will also help them to understand China's foreign policy goals as we move into a new era with China inevitably playing a major role in global affairs.
The author Fu Ying is chairperson of Foreign Affairs Committee of China's National People's Congress; chairperson of Academic Committee of China's Institute of International Strategy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and specially-invited vice-chairperson of China Center for International Economic Exchanges.
