editorial
Written by: Hong Kong 01
2021-01-04 06:00
Last update date: 2021-01-04 06:00
2020 is indeed a year with a lot of information. Both Hong Kong and the world have experienced many things.
Even though it has reached the end of the new year, there are still heavy news.
Last Wednesday (December 30), President Xi Jinping held a video conference with the leaders of the EU, Germany, and France, announcing that China and the EU will complete the China-EU Comprehensive Investment Agreement ("China-EU CAI") by the end of 2020 as scheduled. Only after the two parties have gone through the internal review procedures, the negotiations can be formally signed.
The China-EU CAI is the result of many years of negotiations between China and the EU.
For the EU, it has opened up the Chinese market, allowing EU companies to obtain fairer treatment for investment in China, and also responded to the EU’s dissatisfaction with China such as labor treatment and corporate subsidies; for China, it has also opened up opportunities for investment in Europe. The path can be invested within the permissible range without being manipulated by political issues.
The agreement is now an arrow on the string. Even if there are some voices of opposition within the EU, it is estimated that it will not hinder the passage of this historic cooperation agreement.
CEIBS CAI is not just about the two sectors of China and Europe.
In the context of the internationalization of China and the United States, the EU has signed a comprehensive economic and trade agreement with China in spite of the opposition of the United States, which is of great landmark and practical significance.
The American hawks controlled the dominance of their China policy during the Trump administration. One of their strategies is to restore the international situation to the Cold War pattern.
On the one hand, it can form cliques, exclude China from advanced Western countries and slow down its development; on the other hand, it is also the ultimate means to maintain the leading position of the United States in the West.
Especially in the past one or two years, the hawks have changed Trump’s early practice of waving tariffs and military spending sticks against the alliance, and switched to emphasizing the need to cooperate with the alliance against China. It can also be seen that the American elite has long been unable to wait for Trump to step down and prepare to fix it in advance. The relationship with Europe and other allies attempts to isolate China.
In mid-December, when it was rumored that China and the EU would reach an investment agreement, Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser of the US President-elect Biden’s team, publicly expressed his hope that the EU would discuss with the US first, and he frankly revealed that the US is not happy to see. Go further to China-EU cooperation.
But after all, the EU's will was not swayed by the "warnings" from the US, and the negotiations with China were finally completed.
Of course, it is an exaggeration to tout how good China-EU relations will be based on the CAI alone.
The relationship between China, Europe, and the United States is quite complicated, and it is difficult to summarize it in a few sentences based on the dichotomy of good and bad.
However, the successful completion of the China-EU CAI negotiations shows that after all, Europe has not fully followed the path of the United States.
Rather than reshaping a new Cold War pattern, a sustainable global cooperation is more in line with European expectations and interests.
The relationship between China, Europe, and the United States is quite complicated, and it is difficult to summarize it in a few sentences based on the dichotomy of good and bad.
(Profile picture/Xinhua News Agency)
China breaks through the siege of the United States
More importantly, CEIBS CAI is not a special case, but a mirror that reflects the current world order and pattern that is changing.
In November last year, China just signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) with 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific region including "ASEAN+5", which is the largest tariff and investment agreement in the region.
RCEP and China-EU CAI are not empty and symbolic cooperation agreements, but key rulemakers that have a regulatory effect on the economic and trade of each signatory country.
These all reflect that a China-centric economic and trade system is not only growing rapidly, but also gradually being stabilized through these rules.
In the long run, the development of this economic and trade system will help stabilize China's international position.
After 2020, the US hawks' plan to isolate China has not only failed, but the world economy has become more dependent on China.
Regardless of whether it is described as a simple statement like "China becomes the ultimate winner," it is an indisputable fact that China has broken through the fierce containment launched by the United States in the past few years.
The social unrest in Hong Kong in 2019 and its subsequent development in 2020 have made many Hong Kong people finally realize the importance of an international perspective.
It’s a pity that most of the protesters’ understanding of the world comes from biased opinion leaders who believe in vague but fascinating narratives such as “China’s collapse”, “American intervention”, and “Western besieging China”. Understand the international situation, and even conversely label those who oppose them as people who do not understand international affairs.
However, reality continues to prove that the "international" as perceived by the protesters has never really existed.
In the past year, the Central Government enacted the "Dock Area National Security Law" and a series of vigorous political actions for Hong Kong, showing that the central government has no fear of the threat of "self-harm" by Hong Kong demonstrators and has taken the "speculation theory" from its point of view Uprooted.
We must know that although Hong Kong has contributed to the reform and opening up of the Mainland and the realization of today’s prosperity, the most fundamental reason for the success of the Mainland is the pursuit of a better life by the Mainland people and the result of effective governance by the government. Hong Kong only contributed to this result. One of these factors is by no means unique and cannot be replaced.
How can China be based on Hong Kong if it has such a huge economic vitality today?
The long-term customs closure caused by the epidemic also tells us that China can live a peaceful life without Hong Kong; but Hong Kong’s stability and prosperity cannot leave China alone.
The closure of the epidemic has blocked the exchanges between the two places and has severely hit the pillar industries such as local retail and tourism.
The financial industry, which Hong Kong depends on for survival, also relies on the return boom of Chinese concept stocks to stabilize.
Hong Kong is not the only China, but China is the only Hong Kong.
Only by recognizing the real international situation can we find a way out for Hong Kong
Looking at the world, the signing of the CIA and RCEP between China and Europe proves that China's rise is becoming more and more difficult to impede, and the so-called Western camp to contain China is also difficult to scale.
Under the situation of all-round confrontation between China and the United States, the United States will do everything it can to target Hong Kong.
Over the past year, the United States has always said that it supports Hong Kong, but it has been calculating how to sanction Hong Kong. Isn't it obvious?
Continuing to fantasize that Hong Kong can be a member of the "new Cold War Western camp" that hinders China's development. Not only will it be impossible for Hong Kong to truly join the West, it will only put Hong Kong in a sad situation where it is not human inside and outside.
For a long time, some Hong Kong people have been unable to see these realities clearly because of their prejudice and self-righteous arrogance towards the Mainland.
Under the political turmoil and the raging epidemic, many Hong Kong people feel that the way forward is boundless, but as long as they are willing to let go of their prejudice and arrogance, a way out is not difficult to find.
Only by recognizing that Hong Kong and the Mainland are in the same boat and firmly buckling the interests of Hong Kong and the Mainland can we find a way out for Hong Kong in the future.
Recognizing this way out is definitely the key to Hong Kong's prosperity and stability. Only by maintaining prosperity can Hong Kong have the space to carry out the social reforms that the people want.
Regardless of their political philosophies, Hong Kong people must know that they do not have the strength to change the world situation. To survive, they can only find their own way out with a pragmatic attitude and unconventional ideas.
"Pragmatic" and "extraordinary" seem to be contradictory, but they can have both.
Many young people have a very negative feeling about being pragmatic, thinking that being pragmatic is equivalent to not having dreams and pursuits.
In fact, it is not. Pragmatic only means that the idea must have a realistic and feasible plan, and cannot be based on the imagination of castles in the sky.
Therefore, while being pragmatic, we need to have extraordinary ideas and set aside the conventional bureaucracy to make breakthroughs.
In any case, Hong Kong will still have to give play to the uniqueness of "one country, two systems" in the future, and find and play a role that only oneself can perform in the peaceful rise of China.
(Profile picture)
In any case, Hong Kong will still have to give play to the uniqueness of "one country, two systems" in the future, and find and play a role that only oneself can perform in the peaceful rise of China.
The question is, what role does Hong Kong have to play?
Certain points are that Hong Kong must have the consciousness of being a part of China.
Under the premise of "one country", the interests of Hong Kong and the Mainland are the same. Hong Kong must take the initiative to integrate into the overall development of the country and find its own position to fulfill its mission of promoting national modernization.
Under the "two systems" pattern, Hong Kong should play a pioneering role in China's integration with the world and help the country further open up and develop.
Whether it is CAI, RCEP, or even the overall development of the country, Hong Kong can actually play a role that mainland cities cannot play.
In terms of economy and finance, Hong Kong can provide a free capital platform to allow all parties to communicate and continue to play the role of a financial center.
More importantly, in terms of politics and culture, Hong Kong is a platform for mutual understanding between China and the West. It is the key to China's integration into the world.
To achieve this, the most important thing for Hong Kong people is to recognize the red line of "Hong Kong cannot be an American pawn" in the Sino-U.S. struggle, not to be willing to become a medium that encourages Western prejudice, but to actively eliminate the gap with the mainland. .
As long as Hong Kong can recognize its own position, the country has always been a strong backing for Hong Kong's development.
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