china

Looking to the East / How did China become a global power?

Mohammadreza Nowrozpour, an expert on China issues, believes that China’s movement towards global power and national integration began when Xi Jinping, as the first Chinese leader after Mao, dared to turn his back on communist approaches to continue the path of reforms in Beijing.

According to Tasnim News Agency, Tasnim News Agency, in a case titled “Silk Road Partner”, has evaluated the strategy of looking to the east in the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the bilateral relations between Iran and China. The content of this file includes detailed discussions and notes related to this strategy, the tenth part of this program has paid attention to the cultural and political dimensions with an emphasis on China’s future perspective.

In this regard, Bardiya Attaran, a foreign policy expert, discussed the perspective of the new China, regional issues, bilateral cooperation and the dimensions of the future Tehran-Beijing cooperation in a conversation with Mohammadreza Nowrozpour, a translator and expert on China issues.

Tasnim: As an emerging international power, China presents a narrative to the world, this narrative is the subject of our discussion today, we want to learn more about China. China has characteristics such as population, military power and most importantly economic power, first of all, what narrative do they present to their own people so that people will accompany them in their policies? And consequently, what narrative do they present to the countries of their region in East Asia and the world, which is Chinese public diplomacy and the Chinese narrative to the world?

Nowruzpour: It is very important that our people have a better understanding of China. Unfortunately, our understanding and perception of China is mainly derived from the Western narrative, and the Chinese themselves, unfortunately, did not make a significant effort in this field to introduce themselves to the world as they are. Only these efforts have started since the second half of Mr. Xi Jinping’s presidency, when he officially unveiled China’s cultural soft power program in the speech of the 16th Congress and told Chinese journalists to go and show the real face of China to the people of the world. do

This was the period when Xi Jinping felt that until the people of the world understand the real China and still remain in those stereotypes that the West has made of China, he cannot create the necessary self-confidence among his own people, and at the same time, the confidence It cannot get other countries of the world to interact and cooperate. Therefore, we are witnessing that Mr. Xi’s efforts to strengthen China’s soft power and China’s cultural soft power, which had started since he took office, gained a lot of momentum from the middle of his second term as president, and he mainly observed that the media to send abroad.

Like what was done during Deng Xiaoping’s time and contrary to Mao’s plan and the Great Leap Forward or the Great Leap Forward, Deng Xiaoping told economic companies to leap out and take China’s economy out and take China’s capital out and Introduce what is produced in China to the world and expand China.

There was a time when China felt that now is the time to break out of its own borders, and Mr. Xi Jinping felt at that time that now is the time when China should be as big as it has achieved in the world and in the economic field. To find a big mouth to talk and portray himself and defend himself and his values ​​in the world.

It was at this time that they made a large amount of material and spiritual investments in the cultural and media fields to redefine China in the world, as they say, and to correct the narrative that the West has created about China. Unfortunately, if you ask any Iranian about China, different things may come to mind. If someone is interested in history, they have seen the Great Wall of China and many movies, Brucely and Jackie John, and finally, they may consider the Chinese as a nation that eats everything and eats ugly and bad things, and movies that are mainly rooted in Western black propaganda.

Therefore, we do not have a correct perception and understanding of China, and whenever we say relations with China, everyone thinks. We have to communicate with a country with an unusual idea whose people are Palestinian people who do sloppy work and ignore human rights, and whose people commit genocide. This narrative of China is being challenged by the country’s soft power, and basically Mr. Xi’s approach to soft power is derived from or equivalent to the soft power that America uses to portray American values ​​around the world.

Since 10-15 years ago, if you look carefully, China has started patterns in various cultural and artistic fields and in the field of cinema, theater, music, cinema and buying works of art, strengthening overseas media and extensive cultural exchanges and exchanges, especially people with People and exchanges of journalists means that no country in the world now has as many reporters, experts, artists, craftsmen and in all fields, if you study, it invites elite groups from all over the world at its own expense and brings them all over China until the real China. and go out and advertise for China.

Another thing that China has done to introduce itself to the world, if you look closely, is the vast investment that China has made in the field of education, and officially and publicly, China seeks to become the educational hub of the world. If you look carefully, you will see that the Chinese take students from all over the world in almost all accepted fields and bring these students there, give them scholarships, provide them with a good life at the cheapest costs, and they study, graduate, and return to their own countries. .

A medium-term and long-term effect will benefit China’s culture, politics, and economy. For example, look at one of the factors that make us unable to establish a relationship with China as we should. That memorandum we have to operate? The gears don’t move? They are stuck, it is a body of technocrats who mostly spent their education in western countries. At one point in the history of our intellectuals and students, our youth went to the western countries of America, France, England and different places to study and when you go to a place to study You read, you eat the water and bread of that region and you get mixed with the weather, you grow, you feel whether you like it or not, you have to follow it and it affects your mind whether you want it or not. I want to return to my country and serve – God forbid, I do not intend to dare the graduates from different parts of the world, even those who studied in India – when they return to their own country and serve, they will take the country in that direction whether they like it or not, and our country will become like this country. like the conditions here.

Think about it, the Chinese accept students from all over the world, they provide scholarships and bring them to the country and they stay for 4-5 and sometimes 10 years, and surely when they return to their country of origin, they mostly go to work in the executive body of that country. And when that person becomes a broker, he will no longer have that negative view that was in that country towards China. Now, if we don’t say that he may be inclined towards China’s cultural, economic and political policies, at least he no longer has that negative view, and this is one of China’s big plans to strengthen and spread its soft power all over the world.

Tasnim: On what components does the Chinese government speak with its own people? On what axis does Mr. Xi Jinping bring people with his economic policies? How does he invite people to be patient?

Nowruzpur: In order to understand what China is doing to align its people, I would like to tell you that before this the Chinese started creating a dream for their people, you do not create a dream for your people; People do not gather around you. You have to sell them a dream, but a real sale, not a fake sale. There are many people selling dreams in the world, but if that dream is really sold and realized, that dream will definitely find a customer.

Of course, this Chinese dream was not only during the period of Mr. Xi. But Mr. Xi played a big role in making it happen. The Chinese dream is what gathers and unites the Chinese nation around the Chinese Communist Party. why Because a mixture of national issues means Chinese nationalism, a mixture of Chinese culture, Chinese pride and everything that a Chinese or a person who lives in his country, even if it is not Chinese.

You, as an Englishman, as an American, as a third worlder, as a Middle Easterner, anyone in whatever country he lives in, is so stirred and aroused that it brings him a sense of national pride if it comes to that. This is what Mr. Xi was able to play with and unite his nation around. That is, in fact, if we want to talk a little more academically. Chinese soft power has an internal function before it has an external function for China and Mr. Xi Jinping and the Communist Party.

It is a very important point. Do you mean that the Chinese Communist Party uses its soft power for its own people? I say yes, that is, the Chinese Communist Party believes that I must first prove to my people that I am efficient and worthy to rule over China. First, I have to prove to my people that it is me, my Communist Party, who can bring prosperity to you. In the Chinese dream, to save 600 million to 700 million Chinese people from below the poverty line, which was one of the first goals of the two-century Chinese dream, which I am going to talk about now. It is I who can bring honor and pride to China, to a Chinese citizen in the surrounding world, when a Chinese traveling abroad says I am Chinese. We are the second largest economy in the world.

Nowruzpour: It is, it is not, it is. how about It means that it is impossible for you to see a work in China that is done, for which there is a document and writing and planning in advance and that they have not weighed all its aspects; is not It is not because the Chinese often say that we do not have a model, why do they say this? Because against the threats and the type of portrayal that the West makes of it and is constantly afraid of China and says that the Chinese have a model, they have a dream, they have a plan, they want to export to the whole world. Therefore, the Chinese say no, we don’t have any pattern, it’s not a pattern that you think will fit all and is a one-size-fits-all dress. Therefore, when they arrive here, they say no, we don’t have anything. We don’t have a model, but they know what they are looking for, it is very clear and precise.

First, the Chinese dream consists of a long-term plan called the Bicentennial Plan. What is the two-century plan, that is, the two-century plan means that they have two occasions of the century, and they have plans for these two centuries. They should have realized these things in those two centuries of patrols and are doing them. They did the first one, which was in 2021; The first two-century plan of the Chinese has been realized. 2021 is the 100th year of the establishment of the Communist Party in China. That is, in 1921, the Communist Party was formed in China.

Tasnim: Of course, he came to power in 1949.

Nowruzpur: 1921 is the People’s Republic of China and 1949 is the century of the victory of the Communist Party in China. In the first century in this Chinese dream, they had to eradicate absolute poverty in their country and no longer have anyone as poor, and make the annual income of every Chinese twice the annual income of the same person in 2010, which is now in 2021 when the celebration They took their first two-century plan and celebrated it and said that we eradicated absolute poverty from China by removing more than 500 million Chinese from below the poverty line.

We brought the country to relative prosperity and made the per capita income of every Chinese twice the per capita income of the same person in 2010, which we now think is around 9 to 10 thousand dollars per year. The Chinese achieved their first goal. This created a very growing and nationwide trust in the Communist Party in China, that is, the Chinese Communist Party proved itself to its people that I can lead you to your destination and to the prosperity and comfort that you want. You were looking for it, bring it to me.

What is the second program? The second program, which is the second century, is related to 2049, which is related to the 100th year of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party. In that history of the Chinese, whatever you think is the atom of a successful, perfect, harmonious country number one in the field of politics, economy, culture and military issues, China must have reached it; That is, the second goal of the Chinese and the second dream of the Chinese is that in 2049, China will become the first in the world in all components and realize its national rejuvenation.

Rejuvenation in it is its apparent meaning, that they have seen demographic debates in it and a new country has been revived and by that time the history of China has been perfected. This soft power has worked for their own people because the Chinese must first prove themselves to their own people, that is, to tell their own people that this party has the ability to make you happy. So don’t look for other patterns.

I will bring you comfort and credit, a passport and the second economy in the world. In terms of military, we do not lack anything from America, many people said that if China has not yet emerged, it has not gone outside its borders, because it still has a lot of fear and concern about the military power of America. But today, when we talk to each other, the Chinese are lacking compared to the Americans in almost all military fields, only in terms of quantity and experience. In terms of quantity, the definition of which is known, if they have a few thousand nuclear warheads, China has much less. In terms of experience, the biggest concern of the Chinese Liberation Army, which is the concern of Mr. Xi and the concern of the party, is that the only difference between them and the American army is that China does not have the experience of real war in the field.

On the contrary, the Americans, who conducted various campaigns since the First World War, finally documented the presence of the Second World War in their own name, which they celebrated and are celebrating just a few days ago in the anniversary of the landing of their soldiers in Normandy. But the Chinese army does not yet have the field experience of a real war, and because of this, most of the military maneuvers that the Chinese have are desktop maneuvers, maneuvers that are simulated. It is usually in the area of ​​Taiwan that they constantly carry out maneuvers that if America attacks Taiwan one day, how can China deter this attack, firstly, and secondly, do something to prevent this attack from happening? Therefore, now China is at the highest level of national and international self-confidence.

Tasnim: As a last question; One of our most important national cases, not only with China, is the issue of the Makran coast, and there is a duality, especially the Chabahar port. that some people believe that we should take this Chabahar case forward with the Indians and consider Chabahar as a port to connect the south to the north of the country to connect to Russia and Central Asia; Some people believe that this is a complement to Gwadar and we should give it to the Chinese and consider East-West in order to gain more benefits for the country. How do you think we can solve this intractable problem?

Nowrozpur: The issue of Chabahar is one of the same issues that I mentioned in the last part of the answer to your previous question. Chabahar became a victim of time; Chabahar has been mentioned in the history of our country for almost 100 years. I was very interested in Chabahar and really wanted to pursue conspiracy theories regardless. I feel like it was a conspiracy so that this Chabahar never took off. Because the Chabahar issue is an issue that has been discussed since the beginning of 1300, that is, when Pahlavi I was modernizing Iran. He brought the railway, started working with the Germans, they had offered Chabahar. With today’s components, you won’t believe it. I don’t have the presence of mind in the newspapers that were published at that time, but I think that it was Habalul Matin newspaper that wrote things about Chabahar in those years that we still say the same things about how good this Chabahar is. It is an ocean port, it is the gate of nations, the gate of Iran’s development is from here, it can move all these countries at the fastest speed.

In 2003, when Mr. Khatami went to India, we reached an agreement with the Indians to start the development of Chabahar. If it was moved at the same time, it would not be suitable for the sink government to come to power. Later, when this Mr. Modi came, they are part of the western bloc, and it was completely blocked. But now the thing is that we cannot give time. For example, let’s say China comes to build or others. We would like the Chinese to come and do this, the Nizam believed that both China and India and other countries would benefit from Chabahar.

The fact that you mentioned Gwadar’s connection with Chabahar is because Gwadar’s function and the main function of Gwadar for Pakistan and China is to be able to take goods to the north. But Pakistan is not a safe area especially for going to the north. Therefore, in interaction with Pakistan and China and in order to reduce the level of tension between these countries, we said to make a partnership between China and India and Pakistan and Iran so that Chabahar becomes a center where everyone has a role.

Unfortunately, our view of Chabahar is different from that of the Chinese, Pakistanis, and Indians. Iran constantly insists that Chabahar is a geo-economic advantage for it, but unfortunately, both China, Pakistan and India see our Chabahar region as geo-strategic or geo-political. Indians have political goals from being in Chabahar and this is our bad luck.

We do not have political goals, but the Indians cannot deny it. Yes, India needs a lot to bypass Pakistan. Without needing to go to Pakistan, he can bring his goods and deliver them easily and easily to Afghanistan, Central Asia and Russia, and deliver them to Eastern Europe and the North of the world. What is our sin that we do not have political goals? We have repeatedly told Pakistan to work as a friendly and brotherly and Muslim country. We told the Central Asian country, we even told the Chinese. As a country that has the right to use our God-given capacities, we should not be accused of being disloyal or ignoring China’s interests. The Indians played us for years and did not invest as they should.

Part of the problem of Chabahar is related to us. All the problems of Chabahar are not the problems of the bank. In the case of Chabahar Bank, a lot of good investment has been made and it is progressing, albeit gradually. The biggest problem of Chabahar is the backbank problem.

If you have the bank, don’t have the back bank. What does it include? Includes safe roads. Includes train tracks. Includes population centers, including bazaars. Including the conditions and facilities that you can do new things with that volume of goods and the countries that come and are present there. can change and exchange. Only the raw material should not come and be transferred. Of course, this same transfer also requires back-banks, which your back-banks are not ready yet.

These are the problems, most of which were due to the sanctions that we could not bring in foreign investors. Inside, there was either a lack of facilities or a lack of resources. Unfortunately, that area after its banks has not been seriously invested in it to be ready. The worst thing is that the Chabahar area has been tried to become a security area with visible and hidden hands. If it appears unsafe, this is a risk that should be paid special attention to.

Some say that it is intentional on the part of Pakistan to make that area unsafe, because they do not tolerate the presence of Indians. Anyway, they are strategic competitors of each other, it is our responsibility. that we can provide security there. So that Chabahar grows and reaches development. If Chabahar develops in its own dignity and dignity, the Makran coast is really a very valuable place for development and there is so much work that not only China but all countries in the region can come and invest there.

These Makran beaches are the most pristine coastline in the world and you know that the most developed cities in the world are mainly the coastline of countries. For example, the example of California, its coastline is on the earthquake fault, but it has developed so much that many people wonder how all this development happened on the earthquake fault. If the beaches of Makran, which is the most beautiful and pristine coastline of our ocean, which leads directly to the open waters. Bandar Abbas is very strategic, but it reaches the open waters through an intermediary, and since the future world means the future world, which is the world, this is the 21st century, the century of Asia. It’s been a century that the slogan of the Americans themselves is to move to the East. The gateway to Asia, which is the Indian Ocean, is also Chabahar. Gwadar is not at all comparable to Chabahar. Unfortunately, our conditions are such that you have the best place, but you cannot use it.