Generic commentary on US-China relations and cultural exchange

no contradiction. Indeed, China is now experiencing its own cultural renaissance, fueled by its new affluence. The duality of the Chinese story is reflected in the West's schizophrenic response to it. The Nixon administration eagerly sought better relations with China under Mao, and when Deng Xiaoping doubled down by opening up the country, the West applauded the change. The United States generously accepted Chinese products into its markets, allowed massive trade surpluses, welcomed China into the World Trade Organization in 2001, and kept global sea-lanes open so that China could trade freely. All of this enabled China to emerge as the world's number one trading power by 2013. The United States also generously allowed more than a million Chinese students to study in its universities. Yet the rise of China has also led to deep fears. China continues to be run by a communist party that has no desire to embrace liberal democracy. China has displayed a belligerent side in some of its dealings with Japan and some members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations over territorial disputes in the East China and South China Seas. The possibility of an aggressive, militaristic China cannot be ruled out. But we have come a vast distance since the days when Mao openly talked about the possibility of winning a nuclear war, and Chinese history suggests that Beijing will ultimately prefer to join, rather than replace or reject, the current rules-based order that the West has created. As the world's number one trading power, China has the most to lose from a breakdown of the global economic system. Historically, moreover, what the Chinese have feared most is luan (chaos). This might lead to heavy-handed efforts to preserve order domestically, but it should lead Beijing to support a rules- based order at the global level as well. Undoubtedly, as China grows more powerful, it will become more assertive. This has happened. But since China needs a few more decades of peace to complete its modernization, it has strong reasons to restrain itself militarily and avoid a conflict. Chinese society will never become a replica of Western society. China's own culture is too rich to be absorbed into any other cultural universe. Yet a modernizing China will feature overlapping aspirations in many areas, as, for example, with the rapid spread of Western classical music. In 2008, 36 million Chinese children were studying the piano (six times the number of U.S. children doing so), and another 50 million were studying the violin. Some Chinese cities can fill the halls of 15 opera houses in one evening. A modern China with thriving Western classical orchestras and Western- style universities provides a powerful demonstration of the fusion of civilizations. Western statesmen should allow this dynamic to gain momentum while remaining patient on other areas of change, such as in the political realm. China's development will not necessarily be linear, but in the long run, it should continue in a positive direction. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_026844