At the December 20, 2021 "Symposium on the International Situation and China's Foreign Relations," Cui Tiankai, former Chinese deputy foreign minister and former ambassador to the U.S. and to Japan, delivered a special speech on the topic "Some Thoughts on Sino-U.S. Relations." The symposium was held jointly by the China Institute of International Studies and the China Foundation for International Studies.
In his speech, Cui stressed that the purpose of China's "fight" against the U.S. is "to safeguard the people's interests" and "the overall strategy of national rejuvenation." The U.S., he said, will not "willingly accept the rise of a great power" with "very different social systems, ideologies, cultural traditions, and even of a different race." Stressing that "Indeed, there are many racist elements in the United States policy toward China," he added that the U.S. is "bound to do everything possible to suppress, contain, split, and encircle China with all its strength."
He also said: "Some of our opponents are extremely selfish and have no conscience, but we are Communists with ideals and beliefs, scientific theories, broad minds, and noble sentiments. We must not only defeat them in practical struggle, but also beat them in terms of personal character."
Cui Tiankai (Source: Caixinglobal.com)
Below are excerpts of Cui's speech:[1]
'There Are Many Racist Elements In The U.S. Policy Toward China'
"… General Secretary Xi Jinping and the Party Central Committee have repeatedly pointed out that our party has always regarded seeking happiness for the Chinese people and seeking the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation as its original mission. We are fighting to fulfill the people's yearning for a better life.
"The resolution of the Sixth Plenary Session of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee listed 'adhering to the supreme will of the people' as one of ten critical lessons from history. Now, we must achieve the second centenary goal and realize the path to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation lies in the yearnings and pursuits of the people, which demonstrate the fundamental interests of the people.[2] Unswervingly advancing toward this goal is how we adhere to the supreme will of the people.
"Whether it is conducive to the realization of this goal and whether it serves the overall strategic vision are the only criterion for judging whether diplomatic work, including the work with the United States, is done correctly or not. This is what General Secretary Xi often said, and what we must always keep in mind as the 'biggest goal of the country.'
"That's what we're fighting for in our fight against America. As the general secretary pointed out: 'The struggle we are talking about is not struggle for the sake of struggle, nor is it a struggle for self-interest, but to realize the people's yearning for a better life and realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation;' for this we must shoulder the burden of our heavy task, and work hard, overcoming all difficulties that stand in our way.
"As for the work with the United States, I think there are several aspects in particular that need to be done well. First, the current historical stage of Sino-U.S. relations will last for a long time. The United States will not willingly accept the rise of a great power with very different social systems, ideologies, cultural traditions, and even of a different race. Indeed, there are many racist elements in the U.S. policy toward China, but some people simply don't speak them aloud. The United States is bound to do everything possible to suppress, contain, split, and encircle China with all its strength, they would do so even without any bottom line.
"In this regard, we must have clear heads and be fully prepared to deal with the twists and turns, turbulence, and 'roller coaster' scenarios of Sino-U.S. relations in the future.
"We must resolutely maintain the hard-won achievements of the 1.4 billion Chinese people and uphold the overall strategic vision of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
"Since the purpose of this fight is to safeguard the people's interests and the overall strategy of national rejuvenation, we should do everything possible to reduce the costs and adverse effects to the people's interests and our overall strategy during our struggle. As a principle, we do not fight battles we are not prepared for, we do not fight battles we are uncertain about, and we do not wage wars of anger or wars of attrition.
"Every little interest of the people is hard-won, and we must never allow anyone to plunder it; nor can we let it suffer any losses because of our own carelessness, laziness, and incompetence in our work. For each of us who work in this field, we must ask ourselves to keep the will and interests of the people our top priority - putting the interests of the people and the overall needs of strategy first. Diplomatic work and the struggle against the United States are heavy responsibilities and arduous tasks. We must learn from the example of the General Secretary and strive to fulfill the dictum: 'I will dedicate all of myself and live up to the expectations of the people,' 'The more difficult and dangerous the road, the faster I will move upon it.'
"In the face of challenges and temptations, we must let go of our concerns about personal gains and losses, be willing to take responsibility, and be willing to endure hardships. In the face of complex realities, we must always keep in mind the 'fundamental goals of the country,' and don't always think about being 'Internet celebrities.' Some of our opponents are extremely selfish and have no conscience, but we are communists with ideals and beliefs, scientific theories, broad minds, and noble sentiments. We must not only defeat them in practical struggle, but also beat them in terms of personal character.
'How Can We Best Utilize Our Excellent Traditional Culture Better And More Effectively?'
"I will pose this point as a question to everyone. The 'Four Confidences' we talk about include cultural self-confidence.[3] The resolution of the Sixth Plenary Session of the CPC Central Committee requires us to adhere to the combination of the basic principles of Marxism with China's realities and with the excellent traditional Chinese culture. In this regard, General Secretary Xi Jinping is also a model. In his exchanges with foreigners, he quotes Chinese cultural classics extensively, with a deliberate manner and technical perfection. And he has internalized Chinese culture in many of his discourses and propositions. General Secretary Xi Jinping's proposal to build a community with a shared future for mankind actually contains very profound lessons from China's fine traditional culture.
"Compared with him, we still have a big gap in our own daily work, and there is a lot of room for improvement. The problem now is that often the West sets the issue and we are busy responding. If we always use discourses set by others to tell our own stories, it will be difficult to do well. So my question is: have we fully demonstrated the more basic, deeper and more enduring power of China's fine cultural traditions in diplomatic work, including the diplomatic work with the United States? How can we best utilize our excellent traditional culture better and more effectively? This doesn't just mean citing more classics in our speeches and articles, but also integrating the ideas, spiritual realms, philosophy, sentiments, and 'the truth, the good, and the beautiful' of our excellent traditional culture into diplomatic work. This not only will produce a unique charm, but also will lead us to approach with more subtlety and surprise, without making too much of a sound.
"In short, the resolution of the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee requires us to 'strive to achieve our set goals with persistent spirit like a bamboo deeply rooted in the rocks, and unremittingly promote the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with a clear mind that the last leg of the journey only marks the halfway point.'[4] Let us work hard to do a good job in our diplomacy towards the United States in this spirit, implementing the policy and strategy of the CPC Central Committee's diplomacy towards the United States…"
[1] Ciis.org.cn/xwdt/202112/t20211224_8341.html, December 24, 2021.
[2] The two centennial goals were proposed by the Communist Party of China at its 18th National Congress November 8, 2012. The first goal is to achieve "the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects" by the centennial of the founding of the Communist Party of China (founded in 1921 and has been achieved in 2021, according to the official narrative, with the victory over absolute poverty). The second goal is "to build China into a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful" by the middle of the century, a hundred years after the founding of the People's Republic of China (1949). The "great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation" is the essence of the vision Xi Jinping put forward in the 18th Party Congress, a central component of the "Chinese Dream."
[3] The "Four Confidences" is a set formula and a key component of Xi Jinping's New Era Socialism with Chinese Characteristics. The concept was first mentioned in Xi’s speech on July 1, 2016, at the 95th anniversary celebration of the Party’s founding, where he added "confidence in culture" to his predecessor Hu Jintao's "three matters of confidence" (confidence in the socialist path, theory, and system). In 2017, the 19th CCP National Congress added the Four Confidences to the Party Constitution. "Confidence in the path" refers to belief in the direction of socialism with Chinese characteristics and in its future; "confidence in the theory" refers to belief in the scientific, true, and authentic nature of the theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics; "confidence in the system" refers to belief in the advanced and superior nature of the system of Chinese socialism; and "confidence in culture" refers to a full affirmation of the value of China's culture and a faith in its future.
[4] Cui quoted the Documents of the Sixth Plenary Session of the Central Committee. The original in Chinese：
总之，六中全会决议要求我们，“以咬定青山不放松的执着奋力实现既定目标，以行百里者半九十的清醒不懈推进中华民族伟大复兴” The official Chinese Communist Party translation: "With the determination to never let up until we reach our goals and the attitude that the last leg of the journey only marks the halfway point, we must make unremitting efforts to advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation."
