查看原文
其他

高健:良性互动的中英关系需要务实的智慧


高健

上海外国语大学英国研究中心主任,中国论坛特约专家



在中英双边关系处于低潮的时期,英国外交大臣詹姆斯·克莱弗利于近日访华,试图寻求与中国高层深度交流的机会。自2018年以来,中英高层的交流互动基本处于停滞时期,因此,克莱弗利本次访华被赋予了特殊的政治色彩与现实意义。



有业内人士认为,克莱弗利访华是一次破冰之旅,这种说法言过其实。虽然英国首相苏纳克在今年访美之前将中国表述为西方世界的“划时代的挑战”,并且单方面宣称中英黄金时代已经结束,但是,中英双边经贸关系依然以一种不温不火的节奏稳步发展。根据2022年统计数据,中国是英国第三大贸易伙伴。2023年中国商务部上半年数据统计显示,来自英国的对华直接投资在2023年前5个月同比增长179.2%。克莱弗利本人在英国智库发言说“孤立中国是一种错误”,而英国工商业普遍认为,放弃中国市场对于英国根本不是一种可能的选择。尽管英国议会内始终存在刺耳的反华声音,一些政客为了获得某域外大国的青睐不惜发表极为激烈的反华观点,但是,正如英国《金融时报》所言,英国政府对中国的总体态度始终根植于“一种冷静的愿望”。

对于中英双方而言,构建相对稳定的中英双边关系,是一种务实的外交选择。但是,这一双边关系在中英各自总体外交利益中的权重是不一样的。作为一个未来经济长期向好的发展中国家,中国拥有高效的社会主义市场经济体制优势,超大规模的市场需求,充满韧性的完备的工业链体系,训练有素的管理人才与产业技工。这些因素确保中国在复杂多变的中英双边关系中始终保持一如既往的战略定力。在划定外交红线的前提下,中国对中英关系的未来始终保持建设性的开放态度。中方相信,虚幻的意识形态话术终究无法改变世界格局发展的根本方向与中英双边关系的基本走向。对于英国而言,中国市场意味着什么?对于英国的“全球英国战略”而言,良好稳定的中英双边关系意味着什么?以上问题的答案,唐宁街十号应该比谁都清楚。

不可否认的是,中英在意识形态与价值观念领域存在一定的分歧。然而,需要追问的是这种分歧是不可调和的敌我矛盾,还是特定的历史时期形成的表面矛盾呢?在现代工业资本文明的现实语境下,国家之间的竞争的确具有你死我活的零和游戏的特征,然而,当今世界人类命运一体化的发展趋势充分表明,以冷战思维与丛林法则衡量国家之间的关系,不符合21世纪世界政治与国际格局发展的方向。

顺应时代潮流,以融通务实的智慧参与国际社会的动态发展是一个民族生生不息的重要智慧原则。在世界近代历史进程中,英国是先发工业国家,中国社会一度报以向西方学习的态度,努力探求西方工业强国的发展规律;正是这种开放涵纳的文化精神与实事求是的生活智慧帮助中国再次回到世界舞台的中心。然而,面对当前英国社会发展的困境,一些始终坚持冷战思维的英国政客,为了不可告人的一己私利,置基本事实于不顾,刻意抹黑中国形象,散布妖魔化中国的负面信息。这种损人不利己的人为认知陷阱最终戕害的是英国自身的国家利益。

英国要摆脱对华机会主义的态度,就必须努力建构战略自主的意愿。放眼整个欧洲,今天欧洲主要政治人物都在讨论战略自主,美国强力干预下欧洲日益被动的政治态势可见一斑,这一结论对英国对华外交同样适用。必须指出,脱欧后的英国在外交政策上一度处于自我迷失的状态。对华政策“美国化”成为过去一段时间英国对华外交的主要特征。随着中美博弈的持续,英国在大国之间可以腾挪的外交空间日益狭小。如果连基本的战略自主都难以做到,英国的对华政策又将有何建设性可言?

一个始终需要思考的问题是,究竟什么是中英双方的共通认识与共同利益?如何实现双方共同利益的最大化?在当今国际舞台上,中国的政治影响力与经济辐射力有目共睹。英国在卡梅伦政府时期就已认识到,亚太地区是世界未来经济发展的中心。疫情后的中国经济增长依然强劲有力,中国市场潜力无穷,对于发达国家的众多国际化产业而言,远离中国市场无异于自杀,素来以商业贸易立国的英国应该知晓其中的厉害。只要中英坚持求同存异、相向而行的基本原则,努力寻求利益共同点,中英就完全可以夯实经济压舱石的牢固基础。

当今世界的变化是极为深刻且根本的,这一变化也促使各国战略界跳出固有的思想藩篱,重新全面审视世界格局的发展方向。基于对西方国家现代化道路的反思,中国提出走中国式现代化道路的政治方针,确保中国经济能够行稳致远。中国愿意与世界各国共享经济发展的经验,也欢迎各国搭乘中国经济发展的列车,这一开放合作的态度同样适用于中英双边关系。



Pragmatic wisdom is needed for UK’s China policy to play a constructive role



While the China-Britain relationship is currently at a low point, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly on Wednesday visited China in an attempt to seek opportunities for in-depth communication with senior Chinese officials. Since 2018, high-level exchanges and interactions between the two countries have basically halted, so Cleverly's visit to China has been given special political and practical significance.

Some insiders believe that Cleverly's China trip is an ice-breaking mission, which is an exaggeration. Although British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak unilaterally declared the golden era of China-UK relations to be over and described China as an "epochal challenge" in March this year, China-UK economic and trade relations are still steadily developing at a lukewarm pace. According to statistics from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, in the first five months of this year, real investment by British companies in China increased by 179.2 percent year-on-year. As Cleverly said, "isolating China is a mistake." Despite the existence of certain anti-China remarks within the UK Parliament, the overall attitude of the British government toward China has always been rooted in a "sober desire."

Building a relatively stable relationship between China and the UK is a good diplomatic choice for both sides. However, the weight of this bilateral relationship in their respective overall diplomatic interests differs for China and the UK. As a developing country with a positive long-term economic outlook, China benefits from an efficient socialist market economy system, a huge market demand, as well as a resilient and complete industrial chain system. These factors ensure that China always maintains strategic stability in the complex and ever-changing China-UK relationship. While defining diplomatic red lines, China maintains a constructive and open attitude toward the future of China-UK relations. The Chinese side believes that ideological rhetoric is ultimately futile in changing the fundamental direction of world development or the basic trend of the China-UK relationship. What does the Chinese market mean to the UK? What does a good and stable China-UK relationship mean for the UK's "Global Britain" strategy? 10 Downing Street should be clearer than anyone else about the answers to these questions.

It is undeniable that there are certain differences between China and the UK in terms of ideology and values. However, the question that needs to be asked is whether these differences are irreconcilable contradictions or surface contradictions formed in a specific historical period. The development trend of human destiny integration fully demonstrates that measuring the relationship between countries with a Cold War and jungle law mentality does not conform to the direction of world political and international pattern development in the 21st century.

In the process of modern world history, the UK was the first country to become industrialized, and Chinese society once sought to learn from the West and explore the development laws of Western industrial powers. It was this open and inclusive cultural spirit and pragmatic wisdom that helped China return to the center of the world stage. However, in the face of the current challenges in British society, some British politicians persist in Cold War thinking, disregarding basic facts and deliberately smearing China's image for their own hidden agenda. This self-destructive cognitive trap ultimately harms the national interests of the UK itself. After Brexit, the UK was once in a state of self-loss in its foreign policy. The Americanization of its policy toward China has been the main feature of the UK's diplomacy toward China for some time. If even basic strategic autonomy is difficult to achieve, what constructive role can the UK's policy toward China play?

What is the common understanding and common interest between China and the UK? On today's international stage, China's political influence and economic radiation are evident. Despite the pandemic, China's economic growth remains strong, and the potential of the Chinese market is infinite. For many internationalized industries in developed countries, avoiding the Chinese market is equivalent to self-destruction, and the UK, which has always been a nation built on commercial trade, should be aware of this.

The changes in the world today are profound and fundamental, prompting the strategic circles of various countries to break through their inherent ideological barriers and re-examine the development direction of the world pattern. Based on reflections on the modernization paths of Western countries, China has put forward a political policy of pursuing a Chinese-style modernization path to ensure the steady and long-term development of the Chinese economy. China is willing to share its experience of economic development with countries around the world and welcomes all countries to board the train of China's economic development. This open and cooperative attitude also applies to China-UK relations.

中文版831日刊登于《文汇报》,英文同日发表于《环球时报》英文版。
向上滑动阅览


相关阅读


高健:北约会成为更为团结的军事联盟吗?

高健:美印双边关系的未来存在结构性矛盾

中国论坛特约专家高健接受《环球时报》英文版采访

高健:英国政界须慎重思考这三个问题

高健:美欧跨大西洋关系凸显信任危机

高健:中欧两大文明交流合作远不止经贸

高健:特拉斯辞职绝不意味着英国政治危机的结束

高健:英国新政府的外交政策会有新意吗?

高健:约翰逊走了,会带走英国的混乱和无序吗?

高健:美国对华政策深陷自相矛盾的困境

高健:北约,欧洲安全新架构的绊脚石

高健:俄乌冲突可以给北约续命吗?
高健:从缺司机到缺屠夫,后脱欧时代的英国准备好了吗?

高健:美国果真无意寻求“新冷战”吗?

高健:克里访华与全球气候治理的竞合博弈

高健:中欧顺利完成投资协定谈判是中国对外开放的新起点




继续滑动看下一个
清华大学战略与安全研究中心
向上滑动看下一个

您可能也对以下帖子感兴趣

文章有问题?点此查看未经处理的缓存