CNN:
Recently, many people have concluded from editorials and commentaries in China's official media that China's leaders and government increasingly feel that the trade war and Trump's tariff measures are not just a matter of economic and trade friction, but a strategic step for the U.S. to contain China's development and rise in an all-round way. We've heard similar voices in the U.S., and there's a growing consensus among Democrats and Republicans that China is a strategic competitor for the U.S. Under the circumstances and context, do you believe that the trade friction is a deadlock, and any economic and trade talks or negotiations would be useless or unhelpful? Thank you.
Fu Ziying:
This white paper released by the Chinese government aims to profoundly analyze the benefits that both China and the U.S. have received in their cooperation after the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Despite bumps, difficulties, twists and turns along the way, China and the U.S. both have seen remarkable progress in their gross economic products and people's welfare since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries over more than 40 years ago. We can't forget that the bumpy development of China-U.S. ties over the past more than four decades has always become better and better, as people from the both countries have received benefits and welfare.
The problem right now is what do you think of China? I think there are still some misunderstandings of China in the international community. One of China's three major priorities set by the Chinese government is poverty elimination. Why? Because there we still have tens of millions of people living in poverty. It has been a common task for the world to eliminate poverty. It would be impossible for millions of people to get out of poverty if China didn't develop. In the face of the poverty issue, we all know that China must stick to the reform and opening-up so as to develop itself in economic globalization. However, the key problem is that people always focus on China's large GDP and trade volume while ignoring the average level of GDP and trade per capita, which is still very low.
Mr. Wang Shouwen and I deal with both international and domestic affairs. I've learnt a lot in the investigation and survey of some areas of central and western China. I went to a village in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region at the beginning of 2017. I went there alone without any officials accompanying me. This randomly selected village is over 100 kilometers from Nanning, the capital city of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. There is a family with a veteran and his three sons. It's inconceivable to see the fact that only one son can get married. Because of poverty, there is no furniture in the room, and all the children and adults sleep on the cotton-padded mattress on the floor. Their food is corn congee directly cooked on a fire pan. I burst into tears after seeing this, and I gave them all the money in my wallet.
Should we lift people out of poverty and seek common prosperity with people in China and around the world under the circumstances of economic globalization? Or should we fight with each other and adopt containment policies to end up with the fact that the rich get richer and the poor poorer? Can we do that?
Therefore, I believe that containing China or the so-called trade war is not in line with the direction and future of human peaceful development. Throughout history, wars and trade wars have a price to pay. Who will bear the cost? It's the people. Thank you.
