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Dialogue helps explain China's starring role

By Guo Shuhan (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-05-14 10:40

China's rise on the world stage is like a prosperous family moving into a new town. Gossip and rumors come not just from the West - which peeps in for "secrets" - but also underdeveloped countries, which are envious of its success.

The analogy is one made by preeminent US futurist John Naisbitt and his wife Doris Naisbitt, who co-author Dialogue: The China Model (Duihua: Zhongguo Moshi, New World Press, 2010), with Zhao Qizheng, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

"They are among the few foreigners who personally got on the speeding train of China and acquired a deep insight into all 32 carriages," says Zhao, who realized the extent of their in-depth knowledge of the country after reading China's Megatrends.

John Naisbitt, 81, first visited China in 1967 and the couple founded the Naisbitt China Institute in Tianjin in 2006. Following the tremendous success of the Chinese version of China's Megatrends, which was unveiled last September, their new book is already a sensation. More than 20,000 copies have been sold within 10 days.

Dialogue: The China Model discusses issues relating to politics, economy, society and culture. For example, what does China's rapid rise mean to the rest of the world? Why does the West like to impose its values on other countries? What is the essential difference between China's "vertical democracy" and the West's horizontal structure?

"To me, what is to be appreciated most is the three authors' genuine honesty in 'seeking truth from facts', the frankness of the arguments and the eagerness to understand each other, all characterized with knowledge, wisdom and good faith," says Zhu Yinghuang, editor-in-chief emeritus with China Daily and also proofreader of the English edition, which will be published in August.

English media like CCTV-9 and China Daily have been working hard to present a clearer picture of contemporary China to the world and a more efficient public relations strategy has been a noticeable feature of the government policy in recent years, Doris Naisbitt said at a launch ceremony for the book on Monday.

However, Zhao says different perspectives, the lingering Cold War mentality, Western media's China-bashing strategy and the West's hypothetical "China threat", still combine to misrepresent China.

Believing people-to-people communication across countries can build bridges and foster better understanding, Zhao has been eager to address misgivings the West has about China.

Serving as minister of the State Council Information Office from 1998 to 2005, Zhao co-authored Riverside Talks: A Friendly Dialogue between an Atheist and a Christian (New World Press, 2006) with American religious scholar Luis Palau.

Liu Binjie, director of the General Administration of Press and Publication, believes that the book represents a significant contribution to achieving a common understanding with people with different historical and cultural backgrounds in other countries.

A sentiment echoed by Tie Ning, chairman of the Chinese Writers' Association who says that, "the book provides readers with a new and unique perspective to observe and understand China today".