Understand China | Chinese modernization is the modernization of peaceful development

“To understand China, the key lies in understanding Chinese modernization.”

The "Understand China" program produced by People's Daily Online interprets a real, multidimensional and comprehensive China through in-depth dialogues between both Chinese and foreign scholars.

Chinese modernization is the modernization of peaceful development. In this episode of "Understand China", He Wenping, a researcher with the Institute of West Asian and African Studies, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Evandro Menezes de Carvalho, head of the Center for Brazil-China Studies of the Getulio Vargas Foundation School of Law, discussed the implications of Chinese modernization to global peaceful development.

They had an in-depth discussion on topics including the Western crafted "China threat" discourse, some Western political figures' practices of "Zhi Lu Wei Ma" (calling a deer a horse), and Chinese-created job opportunities in Africa. They revealed the absurd logic that adopting the Western practices of "Zhi Lu Wei Ma" means "independence", and how expressing one's own opinion can result in being accused of being bought by China.

He pointed out that based on the idea of peaceful development, China introduced a number of key initiatives including the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative. China has made significant contributions to global development, a key for ensuring peace.

De Carvalho pointed out that Western development has relied on the plundering of other countries. Western globalism is based on uniformity between countries while the concept of "a community with a shared future for mankind" proposed by China is based on harmony between countries despite their differences. China respects the way a country builds its development, and respects the cultures of different countries, emphasizing common development.