Public diplomacy to play a vital role in Sino-US relations, scholars say
By Liu Xia |
Updated: 2018-12-28 17:12
Public diplomacy could play a vital role in improving relations between China and the United States, which have affected by trade tensions triggered by Washington, Chinese scholars said on Wednesday in Beijing.
He Yaomin, vice-president of Renmin University of China, said public diplomacy is powerful because of its flexibility.
“Both China and the US benefit significantly from building ties and I believe that the cooperation between the two is the only way possible,” he said. “Public diplomacy is powerful as it is more flexible than official diplomacy.”
He was speaking at a seminar titled “40 Years of Sino-US Relations and Public Diplomacy”, organized by the National Academy of Development and Strategy of Renmin University of China.
The scholars who attended the meeting came from Chinese universities, research institutions and think tanks.
He also said that facing the ever-changing Sino-US relations, Chinese scholars have the responsibility to provide valuable insight, including historical reviews, realistic judgments and an outlook for the future.
Yuan Zheng, director of the Department of American Diplomacy at the Institute of American Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, agreed.
Yuan also highlighted room for improvement. “The development of public diplomacy has gone through ups and downs, and we made a lot of progress as well as mistakes.”
Yuan added that there is still a lot of work to be done, such as expanding the cultural exchanges between China and the US, getting to know US society better and understanding the logic in US public opinion.
“We should conduct Sino-US public diplomacy objectively and rationally, without exaggerating nationalism and anti-US sentiments.”
Chen Wenling, chief economist of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges,said that the voices from Chinese think tanks, scholars and academic institutions have increased rapidly over the past years, which is a good sign of improving public diplomacy.
“This is mainly because China considers problems from a broader picture, bearing in mind the community of a shared future for all mankind. ”
In Chen’s view, our attitude in dealing with the US matters. “Think tanks should base their arguments on facts, and consequently be confident, though the counterparts act arrogantly and aggressively.”
“The counterparts will eventually become our friends,” Chen said.
Public diplomacy could play a vital role in improving relations between China and the United States, which have affected by trade tensions triggered by Washington, Chinese scholars said on Wednesday in Beijing.
He Yaomin, vice-president of Renmin University of China, said public diplomacy is powerful because of its flexibility.
“Both China and the US benefit significantly from building ties and I believe that the cooperation between the two is the only way possible,” he said. “Public diplomacy is powerful as it is more flexible than official diplomacy.”
He was speaking at a seminar titled “40 Years of Sino-US Relations and Public Diplomacy”, organized by the National Academy of Development and Strategy of Renmin University of China.
The scholars who attended the meeting came from Chinese universities, research institutions and think tanks.
He also said that facing the ever-changing Sino-US relations, Chinese scholars have the responsibility to provide valuable insight, including historical reviews, realistic judgments and an outlook for the future.
Yuan Zheng, director of the Department of American Diplomacy at the Institute of American Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, agreed.
Yuan also highlighted room for improvement. “The development of public diplomacy has gone through ups and downs, and we made a lot of progress as well as mistakes.”
Yuan added that there is still a lot of work to be done, such as expanding the cultural exchanges between China and the US, getting to know US society better and understanding the logic in US public opinion.
“We should conduct Sino-US public diplomacy objectively and rationally, without exaggerating nationalism and anti-US sentiments.”
Chen Wenling, chief economist of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges,said that the voices from Chinese think tanks, scholars and academic institutions have increased rapidly over the past years, which is a good sign of improving public diplomacy.
“This is mainly because China considers problems from a broader picture, bearing in mind the community of a shared future for all mankind. ”
In Chen’s view, our attitude in dealing with the US matters. “Think tanks should base their arguments on facts, and consequently be confident, though the counterparts act arrogantly and aggressively.”
“The counterparts will eventually become our friends,” Chen said.
