Key to Sino-US relations lies in history and reality

Wang Mengying

O n June 26， the 2022 Pearl S. Buck International Symposium was successfully held in Zhenjiang， Jiangsu province. The symposium， themed“Mutual understanding and reciprocal learning for the future”， was hosted by Jiangsu University and supported by China Institute of International Studies and Zhenjiang Pearl S. Buck Research Association.

CPAFFC President Lin Songtian was invited to deliver a video speech. Participating in the opening ceremony online and offline and delivering speeches were Xu Bu， president of CIIS； Du Kewei， director-general of the China Center for International People-to-People Exchange； Guo Jian， chairman of the Zhenjiang CPPCC； Yan Xiaohong， president of Jiangsu University； Mary Sue Bissell， president of the US-Asia Institute； Anna Katz， president and CEO of Pearl S. Buck International； and Professor Alessandra Lavagnino， director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Milan. More than 1，000 representatives， including experts and scholars from Chi- nese and foreign institutes and universities， attended the symposium online and offline and had candid， friendly exchanges.

Lin expressed congratulations on the successful hosting of the symposium and said that Pearl S. Buck， a well-known American writer， chose to stand on the right side of history to fight against the Japanese fascist inva- sion and safeguard justice and peace during World War II. She sought extensive international support and assistance for Chinas resistance against Japanese aggression. Moreover， she was dedicated to promoting cultural exchanges between China and the United States， helping shape SinoAmerican friendships featuring mutual understanding， mutual assistance， am-ity and setting great examples of bilateral people-to-people exchanges and friendly coexistence. She will always be missed by the people of both countries for her deeds， Lin said.

“Faced with severe difficulties in Sino-US relations， it is high time for us to host activities in commemoration of the 130th anniversary of Pearl S. Bucks birth，” Lin said. “This activity， with a positive response among people from all walks of life of the two countries， shows again the common wish of the two people for friendship and helps pull bilateral relations back to a rational and right track.”

Lin noted that the Sino-US relationship is the bilateral relationship with the most intertwined interests， most extensive fields of mutually beneficial cooperation and broadest common interests. Its a pity， he said， that some American politicians still maintain a Cold War mentality， which features the idea of winning at the loss of the others and a zero-sum game. Because of this mentality， as well as strategic anxiety and panic about maintaining hegemony， they are neither willing nor brave enough to admit the facts that the Chinese people， under the leadership of the Communist Party of China， have found the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics which suits Chinas own national conditions； that China has successfully lifted more than 1.4 billion of its people out of absolute poverty with more than 40 years of relentless efforts， leaving no one behind； and that emerging-market countries have risen as a whole with common aspirations for peace， development and cooperation.

Lin said there exists grave miscalculation about China in the US， which is misleading the American people and international opinion. This constitutes the fundamental reason for the deteriorating Sino-US relationship， he said. The key to solving the problem lies in history and reality.

Pearl S. Buck， Lin said， devoted her whole life to the cause of friendly exchanges between the two peoples. The valuable enlightenment she left behind is that the two peoples， despite different cultural values， beliefs and skin colors， can coexist in peace and friendship and achieve win-win results with mutual respect and reciprocal learning.

Lin said the Chinese and American people hold the key to bilateral relations. Its the two peoples who develop， contribute to， safeguard and benefit from bilateral friendship. Its also they who bear the brunt of a ruined bilateral relationship. China and the US both stand to gain from cooperation and will only lose from confrontation. Both peoples are eager for mutual respect， peaceful coexistence and common development.

“The CPAFFC would like to build more platforms to advance exchanges and cooperation on subnational levels and between friendship cities， enterprises， think tanks and media outlets，”Lin said. “In this way， we can strike up the main tune of the times featuring peace， development， cooperation and win-win results.

“We hope that more people of insight and vision from the US — like Pearl S. Buck， Edgar Snow and members of Flying Tigers — will stand on the right side of history， make active moves， send reasonable messages， advance the Sino-US relationship on the right track and safeguard world peace and justice with concerted efforts.”

Qu and other Chinese speakers said that Pearl S. Buck served as a bridge between Oriental and Western cultures. The ideas of cultural equality and interaction reflected in her works correspond with the major country diplomatic philosophy held by China， featuring openness， inclusiveness， mutual benefits and win-win results.

According to the Chinese speakers， we should replace cultural estrangement with exchanges， clashes with mutual learning and a sense of superiority with coexistence. We should give full play to the role of cultural exchanges in cultivating people， while guiding and educating the younger generation to understand and recognize the history and reality of bilateral exchanges. We should discover and cultivate more cultural envoys and contributors for better bilateral relations， like Pearl S. Buck， so that the two countries can stride toward a more beautiful future.

Katz introduced the former residence of Buck in Bucks County， Pennsylvania， as well as the table and typewriter she used for her writing. She said that all cultures are colorful and worth learning about.

“Buck advocated for mutual learning and mutual acceptance. She introduced to Western readers the China she knew so well and loved so much，” said Katz， “She devoted her latter half of life to facilitating mutual understanding between the two peoples and improving bilateral relations， leaving behind an invaluable transcultural and humanitarian heritage.”

Bissell of the US-Asia Institute said that Bucks life， as a bridge connecting two cultures， has important implications for todays US-China people-to-people and cultural exchanges. The two countries cannot enhance mu- tual understanding and share a peaceful future without dialogue. She said the US-Asia Institute looks forward to promoting bilateral exchanges and collaboration and carrying forward Bucks dream together with the Chinese side.

Lavagnino said that Bucks works continue to enlighten a wide range of readers in Italy and to draw wide attention from a large number of scholars there. She hoped for another visit to China after the pandemic and academic exchanges on Pearl S. Buck research with Chinese counterparts.

Activities during the opening ceremony also included the launching ceremony for the University Alliance of Pearl S. Buck Research， the release of the International Pearl S. Buck Research Index Report （2022） and a display of books focusing on research about Buck in China.

This year marks the 130th anniversary of Pearl S. Bucks birth. She came to China in childhood and lived and worked in China for 40 years， viewing China as her second homeland. She actively publicized and supported Chinas resistance against Japanese aggression， engaged in breaking through the cultural barriers between the West and the East and made contributions to Sino-American cultural exchanges and people-to-people friendship.