“People now pay close attention to China and its ways to development as it has emerged but uncertainties remain. Some radical countries impose their logic on China, but Chinese logic is very much different from the West. This is the reason why we should actively help the world to understand China,” said Zheng Yongnian, a professor of political science at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen) on December 1 during the Understanding China Conference in Guangzhou.

The Understanding China Book Series Ⅱ was launched at the conference. The China’s Solutions, a book written by Zheng Yongnian of this series, sheds light into China’s path to achieve economic growth, social stability as well as institutional support and leadership. He believes the institutional development is key to the rise of China, and it in fact offers an alternative to address global issues.

“China starts from understanding the West in order to open up and seek development. It spent generations learning from the West for its knowledge in different domains, which is significant to the modernization of China. However, it’s not sustainable to develop based on the western methods only because we might loss our characteristics, culture and civilization during this process.”

Zheng Yongnian stressed we will definitely keep learning from the West in the future but more importantly, we have to help both foreigners and Chinese nationals to understand China. He explained, “The goal to understand China is to develop a knowledge hierarchy that is based on the practical experience of China and its people. Now that China emerged, we must form a knowledge hierarchy that could explain and enable others to understand China.”

“The rise of a country is not only about its economic and social development but the rise of a new institutional system. It happened in the UK, US and now China,” said Zheng Yongnian, “I hope we can all work together to achieve sustainable development, but in the meantime, create our own knowledge hierarchy and spread our own stories.”

Author: Jasmine

Graphic design: Mia

Editor: Keane, Jerry