Co-building more constructive than seeking global governance

14:39, May 28, 2010

By Li Hongmei

According to the Bible story of The Tower of Babel, the whole world had one language -- one common speech for all people. The people of the earth became skilled in construction and decided to build a city with a tower that would reach to heaven.

God came to see their city and the tower they were building. He perceived their intentions, and in His infinite wisdom, He knew this "stairway to heaven" would only lead the people away from God. He noted the powerful force within their unity of purpose. As a result, God confused their language, causing them to speak different languages so they would not understand each other. By doing this, God thwarted their plans. He also scattered the people of the city all over the face of the earth.

God realizes that when people are unified in purpose they can accomplish impossible feats. But what is beyond the story of Babel Tower in the real life is that the barrier blocking the free flow of ideas from different cultures is not merely language, but the wall of egoism and prejudice long standing in the innermost of people's hearts.



That is how we in China see the conception of global governance.

It is in any case wrong to fantasize that China is likely to follow the old logic of the Western powers to seek the global governance by spreading religious belief, projecting military power, directing value orientation, and imposing a political system. China is more likely to seek "mutual respect" rather than "dominance", and the simple doctrine of "non-interference" may well shape its performance on the world stage.

China's rising economic power might play a role in reshaping the global landscape. Some Americans have overzealously started to talk about "Chimerica" co-governing the world. But predicting the future is a notoriously risky business, even though in any case we have all learnt that no monolithic power can monopolize the world affairs and define the course of history, nor can a single mighty hand blot out the sky of the world's future.

As is shown in the just-concluded second round of the Sino-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED), full communication between cultures and at different levels is an important basis for enhanced cooperation; and the problems confronting all call for the shared responsibility and joint efforts.

"Not even the most sophisticated telecommunication technology can replace face-to-face exchanges. We should step up strategic dialogues and consultations to deepen understanding, expand common ground and promote cooperation," as President Hu Jintao was quoted as saying in his speech at S&ED.

Likewise, the US President Barack Obama also explicitly stated some time ago that the U.S. will have to abandon Bush's "unilateralism", coming and going alone in the world jungles. But how? Only when the wall of egoism and prejudice recedes, can the U.S. give up the traditional thinking of hegemony and sincerely reach out to others.

As for the US-coined "G2" or "Chimerica" boasting about the combined strength of the US and China to co-govern the world, it is not only an idea which has been squarely turned downed by the Chinese side, but an illusion totally blind to the world's reality, in which multi-faceted political maps, multi-leveled economic development and multi-colored cultures will persist, whether it be God-made or human-made.

Be that as it may, peoples of the world can still unify their efforts to serve the common goals through unbiased and symmetrical communication. For the world powers, who are willing to do more share in reshaping the world's tomorrow, co-building for a better world is more realistic and far wiser than seeking global co-governance.

The pooled strengths and wisdoms of the peoples all across the world may not build up a stairway to heaven, but can create a land of God on the earth.

The articles in this column represent the author's views only. They do not represent opinions of People's Daily or People's Daily Online.