Opinion
观点

Confucius could help relations between US, China
儒家思想可能会有助于美国和中国的关系

His concept of the "middle way" could help both countries recognize the mutual interests that bond them.
儒家“中庸之道”可资中美发展关系借鉴

from the August 14, 2009 edition

美国《基督教科学箴言报》8月14日文章

• Print this
• Letter to the Editor
• Republish
• Email and share
• E-mail newsletters
• RSS

Cambridge, Mass. - SincePresident Obama took office, Chinese-US relations have enjoyed ahoneymoon period. This has led many to assert that the US and Chinawill be able to shoulder the troubled world together, perhaps evenforming their own Group of Two (G-2).

马萨诸塞州，剑桥 - 奥巴马总统就职后，中美关系进入了蜜月期。许多人据此认为，美国和中国可以联手拯救危机重重的世界，也许甚至会构建一个两国（G2）集团。

While such an arrangement would bring economicand strategic benefits, we should not view the relationship through arelatively simplistic and overly ambitious "G-2" prism, where we areperceived as allied saviors. The more realistic approach to handlingthe Chinese-US relationship is using the Confucian "middle way."

这种格局将带来经济和战略上的好处，但我们不应该通过相对简单且过于雄心勃勃的G2集团的视角来看待两国关系，把自己视作结为同盟的救世主。儒家的“中庸之道”才是处理中美关系的务实手法。

Touse the middle way essentially means that Washington and Beijing shouldnot be too optimistic, or even too pessimistic, about their relations.Nor should they overestimate their joint capacity in shaping the worldorder. Instead, they should value collaboration, but also prepare fordeviations. The guiding principle of this middle way is to always solveproblems in a peaceful, mutually respectful, and pragmatic manner.

中庸之道首先意味着华盛顿和北京不应该对彼此间的关系感到过于乐观或过于悲观。它们也不应该高估自己合作打造世界秩序的能力。相反，它们应该重视协作，但也要准备好面对差异。这种中庸之道的指导原则是：始终要以和平、相互尊重和务实的手段解决问题。

China learned about the wisdom of letting go ofan egocentric world view a long time ago: The Chinese character for theword "China" literally means middle kingdom. Ancient Chinese believedChina to be the center of the world and their emperor to be the highestauthority on earth, until the arrival of the Western civilization atthe beginning of the 18th century made them realize that they sharedthe responsibilities of the world.

中国早就知道，放弃以自我为中心的世界观是聪明的做法。中国古人认为中国是世界的中心，他们的皇帝是地球上最高的主宰。直到西方文明在18世纪初进入中国，他们才意识到，他们要分担对世界的责任。

Today, both the US and China better understand that the environment in which they operate is in many ways determined by theconditions created by numerous other players.

如今，美国和中国都更充分地了解到，从诸多方面看，他们所处的环境是由其他众多参与者决定的。

Puttingthe old wine of unipolar politics into a new bottle and calling it G-2is not a practical solution for building a multipolar world. Even if aG-2 model were possible, there remains such a huge gap between Chinaand the US that it would require an uneven sharing of responsibilitiesby the two countries.

把单极政治的旧酒装进G2集团的新瓶并不是建立多级世界的可行办法。即使G2模式是可行的，中国和美国之间还存在极大的差异，不可能承担同等的责任。

For instance, China's per capita gross domesticproduct is currently just one-eighth that of the US. Thus, some arguethat China's biggest responsibility to the world is to simply remainstable and feed its 1.3 billion people, one-fifth of the world.

例如，中国目前的人均国内生产总值仅为美国的1/8。因此，有些人认为中国最重要的责任是保持稳定，养活相当于全球人口1/5的13亿国民。

Also, some see Washington's demands on Beijingas attempts to use China as a means to an end, rather than as an equalpartner. For example, following the China-US Strategic and EconomicDialogue, a top newspaper in Singapore claimed that "China has beenG2'ed," and a Japanese daily commented that the US pledge to pass alongthe engine of the global economy to China "was simply a tactic ofexpediency."

此外，有些人认为，华盛顿对北京提出的要求是为了达到自己的目的，而不是把北京作为平等的伙伴。例如，中美举行战略与经济对话后，新加坡的一家主流报纸称“中国被G2”；一家日本报纸则评论说，美国之所以承诺要把全球经济引擎传递给中国，“只不过是一种权益战术”。

G-2 or not, two heads are better than one. China and the US will continue dialogue on key issues of common concern such astrade, economic recovery, climate change, the Korean peninsula, Iran, human rights, and democracy.

不论是不是G2，两个人的自毁总胜过一个人。中国和美国将继续围绕共同关注的关键问题（比如贸易、经济复苏、气候变化、朝鲜半岛、伊朗、人权和民主）展开对话。

Therewill be disagreement, and the results will affect bilateral relationsand the world. Given this inherently volatile dynamic, only the middleway can lead to a balanced relationship and realistic expectations fromthe rest of the world.

将来必定会有分歧，其结果将影响到双边关系和全世界。有鉴于这种固有的多边形势，只有中庸之道才能打造平衡的关系，并且让世界其他国家给予现实的期望。

Both countries must realize that they will not be permanent friends, nor permanent enemies, but permanent interests will bondthem for their benefit and the world's.

两国都必须认识到，它们不会是永远的朋友，也不会是永远的敌人，但永远的利益将把它们结合在一起，为自己和全世界带来好处。

Anne Wu is an associate of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

安妮-刘系美国哈佛大学贝尔弗尔科学与国际事务研究中心肯尼迪学院副研究员。

2009年8月18日 周二 20:24:21