A Chinese article titled, “Four Things Not Anticipated and Ten Points” was spread on the Internet recently. The article, commenting on how Beijing has misjudged the U.S., was said to be written by Dai Xu, a strategist with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
However, Dai Xu, a China’s military hawk, issued a statement on his Weibo account that he didn’t write this article. (#1, Weibo)
Later, Chinascope found that a copy of the article, said to be written by Ling A’feng, was posted on the Internet on July 15, 2018. (#2, CReaders)
The points in the article are worth reading though, as they show a moderate or liberal view from the Chinese side on U.S. and China relations. The following are highlights of the points from the article (#3, U.S.-China Perception Monitor):
As to the Sino-U.S. relations, there are a few things that the Chinese people did not anticipate that would happen:
- The U.S. has such a big antagonism against China. The Chinese people never thought that the U.S. government would run its public relations machine at full strength, denouncing China to the maximum extent, describing China as the “trade hooligans” who should never be forgiven, and pushing the “China threat” theory to a new level.
- The U.S. government has acted so ruthlessly, in such a short time frame, and given (China) no time to negotiate.
- Not a single country has stood up to show sympathy and support for China.
- The Republic Party and the Democratic Party in the U.S. have formed a united front (against China).
China must revise its understanding of the U.S.:
- Don’t assume that the U.S. is a “paper tiger” (a Chinese idiom for something that looks powerful from outside but is actually weak). On the contrary, the U.S. is a real tiger and can eat people.
- Don’t hope that the U.S. will forever make mistakes. It has a correction mechanism for its mistakes and will not forever carry the ‘political correctness’ policy.
- The U.S. does not pay serious attention to ideology and value systems; it only cares about economic and trade interests.
- Do not go to the U.S. to say it openly, “I want to surpass you and replace you; I want to be the world’s number one.”
- The U.S. is not afraid of offending someone. It has many allies, but it, for sure, will not sacrifice its own interests to please an ally.
- China should acknowledge that the U.S. is the “world’s number one.” Though it might be hard (for some Chinese) to accept it emotionally, but emotion cannot replace reality.
- Do not mention “sharing information” in front of the U.S. The U.S. is big on intellectual property. If you keep showing off your achievements obtained from “information sharing,” then you are a “technology thief” in the eyes of the U.S.
- The U.S. is a master at playing strategy games. Don’t let the Americans aim their strategies at you.
- Don’t hope that the Presidential election in the U.S. will change its national strategy.
- Don’t naively assume that you are fighting just the U.S. The U.S. has a lot of strategic allies. It represents universal values. If it acts, other countries will follow; even if some countries may not want to follow, eventually they will still line up with the U.S. Keep this in mind: if the U.S. increases 30 billion dollars in tariffs on you, (you will get) 60 billion, 90 billion, or even more tariffs (as other countries may follow suit).
Related postings on Chinascope:
- Public Opinion: Netizens Relay-Posted “The Person Who Handed out Whistles” Article
- Public Opinion: Refusing to Remain Silent Any Longer, a Wuhan Youngman Decided to Speak for the Died
- Public Opinion: People Creatively Protested Government’s “Be Grateful” Education
- Leadership: The CCP Was Forced to Reverse the “Be Grateful to the CCP” Education
- Public Opinion: People Unsatisfied for Government Giving Dr. Li Wenliang an “Advanced Individual” Title
1. Excerpt in Chinese:
声明：《戴旭：对美国的四个想不到和十点认识》不是戴旭所写。特此声明。
Source: Weibo, May 5, 2020
https://www.weibo.com/daixu?is_all=1
2. CReaders, July 15, 2018
http://bbs.creaders.net/politics/bbsviewer.php?trd_id=1341356
3. Excerpt in Chinese:
对于当下的中美关系，中国人有几个想不到：
第一个想不到：美国对中国有这么大仇恨。
这是中国人万万没有想到了，美国政府已经开动了所有的宣传机器，在全世界最大程度的妖魔化中国，把中国打造成一个“十恶不赦”的“贸易大流氓”，把对“中国威胁论”的宣传推向了一个新高度。
第二个想不到：美国政府下手这么狠、时间如此紧迫、容不下谈判的时间，这是绝大多数中国官员和专家预测不到的。
第三个想不到：没有一个国家站出来表示同情和支持中国。
中国曾经援助了这么多的国家，这些国家也拿了中国许多好处，但关键时候，这些国家都没有与中国采取统一行动。
第四个想不到：美国国内竟然形成了统一战线。
在现在的美国国会中，竟然没有一个替中国说话的政客；对于一个重大的贸易政策，美国两党竟然出奇的统一，这确实让所有中国人很受伤。
结合上述四个想不到，中国有必要对美国重新认识，假如我们还不从思想观念上调整对美认识，那么在战略和战术上必然会跑偏，可能还会犯重大的错误。
第一个认识：不要认为美帝是“纸老虎”，那是只“真老虎”，是要吃人的。
第二个认识：不要指望美帝永远会犯错，美帝有完善的纠偏机制，不可能永远执行“政治正确”。
第三个认识：美帝并不十分重视意识形态和价值观理念，他们只看重经贸利益。
第四个认识：不要大张旗鼓到美帝的家门口说：“我要超越你，我要取代你，我要做世界第一”。
第五个认识：美帝不在乎得罪人，他有许多盟友，但他绝对不会牺牲利益去讨好盟友。
第六个认识：要承认美帝是世界“老大”这个事实，虽然在感情上不能接受，但感情不能取代事实。
第七个认识：不要在美帝面前提“信息共享”。
美帝是特别重视知识产权保护的，如果你整天炫耀“技术共享”而获得的成果，那么在美帝眼里你就是“小偷”。也不要在美帝面前谈什么“互联网经济”，这等于是在“关公面前舞大刀”；你使用的英特网是美帝发明的，你在别人地基上盖房子，就不要说拥有产权，低调不会死人，吹牛是要吓死人的。
第八个认识：美帝是玩战略的高手，千万不要让美国人在你身上玩战略。
第九个认识：不要指望美国的选举会改变其国家战略。
第十个认识：不要天真地认为你仅仅是在与美帝一家斗争。
因为美帝是有庞大的战略同盟的，他代表了一种普世价值观，只要美帝一行动，世界上的其它力量就会跟进，也许有的国家不情愿、不甘心，但最终都会与美帝步调一致；要记住：美帝今天对你300亿的贸易增收关税，其产生的效应一定是600亿、900亿，或更多，这就是美帝真正强大之所在；我们必须要用理智取代怒火，要斗智斗勇。
Source: U.S.-China Perception Monitor, May 4, 2020
http://www.uscnpm.com/model_item.html?action=view&table=article&id=21579