US urged to swap China fears for facts

Policymakers in Washington need to brush up on history, expert says

A longtime China-watcher says US policymakers need to better understand Chinese history and culture as a means of easing tensions amid the nations' trade conflict.

"My advice to the US really is, just be very clear where you are competing and where you are not competing (and) substitute facts and reality for impressions and fears that are not grounded in anything real," said Peter B. Walker, senior partner emeritus at management consulting firm McKinsey & Co, referring to the future of China-US relations.

The people in Washington "would not do very well" if given a "very simple quiz on the history and culture of China and how it plays out in their actions today", said Walker.

China and the US have some fundamental differences in their models and values, but it is not "a question of right or wrong", he told China Daily in a recent interview.

Those differences are rooted in the two countries' different histories and cultures, said Walker, who has made more than 80 trips to China in the past 15 years and who is "never not in the middle of reading a book about China".

A different China

Walker interacted with everyday people, government employees and company executives - including those from state-owned enterprises - during his trips to China. In those visits, he sees a different China from the depictions he reads in some Western media.

Chinese government officials whom Walker has met over the years are "very highly educated, very committed to the well-being of the people, and (are) always learning", he said, and the people there are "outgoing, happy, energetic (and) proud".

Walker said that books and media often portray Chinese officials as "corrupt", and the government painted as "largely interested in staying in power".

That disconnect, as Walker observed, "only got bigger" in recent years, and the veteran business consultant decided to write a book about it.

Titled Powerful, Different, Equal: Overcoming the Misconceptions and Differences Between China and the US, the book "gave me a chance to describe the difference between the China I saw and the China that was being described in the press", said Walker.

First attracted to China and the Chinese culture by Taoism, the ancient Chinese philosophy advocating balance and harmony, Walker contested the notion that China is a "threat", which he attributed to a "right or wrong" mentality in the West.

Walker, referring to his own experiences of talking to Chinese people, said that China "doesn't see it as a zero-sum game".

"Their attitude is (that the) US, you should do whatever you need to do to be successful, and we will do the same in China. And maybe we'll both be very successful," he said.

Some US citizens feel threatened in part because "they know so little about China", he said. "Twenty-six million Chinese have visited the US; not 1 million Americans have ever been to China."

That lack of understanding makes it "more comfortable painting a picture that China is the bad guy", said Walker, "but when you peel that onion back and look at the facts, it's not substantiated".

Comparing the two countries' defense budgets, Walker said China's is "one-third of ours for four times as many people, and I think most people would agree that it's largely defensive".

"I think we will look back in history and realize that turning our backs on China is a big mistake," said Walker, referring to the trade dispute that has lasted more than a year and a half.

It has resulted in up to 25 percent additional tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of imports on both sides and is "hurting today the US economy; it's hurting the Chinese economy; it's a lose-lose", he said.

Walker suggested that the US find people who understand China - its history and culture. Such people would understand the areas of competition, but also know how "you can create win-win environments", he said.