American professor: I believe in mutually beneficially Sino-US relations

"I found my passport pages totally used up with Chinese visas until the moment I arrived at Indian embassy for a scholarly visit visa," the young American scholar Gregg Brazinsky recalled his own anecdote in Chinese with laughter.

This young associate professor, whose Chinese name is "Pei Douhu," is an U.S.–East Asian expert hired by the department of history at George Washington University.

As an American, Gregg said he understand the worries that some Western countries have when they witness China's amazingly fast economic development in recent decades.

But as a history scholar, Gregg has a unique perspective of the Chinese concept of "Peaceful Development."

From his point of view, the concept advanced by China can be traced back to 1950s, when former Prime Minister Zhou Enlai met the Indian government delegate to China. Now, this early incarnation of "Peaceful Development," which is generally called the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence, has been extensively practiced through massive mutual international treaties. Therefore, this concept has legitimized its discourse internationally.

"But we see a slightly different background of the evolved concept," he continued. "In the 1950s, the policy was created to allow China to concentrate on domestic economic development. Now, as China is on the rise, the concept is not just focused on self-protection anymore. Instead, it demonstrates China's strategy, which is to grow stronger without offending the world. To be clear, it is good for the world's peace and stability in the long run."

"This is a smart choice and policy statement," Brazinsky said.

Following the strand of Chinese foreign policy, Gregg has an optimistic view toward Sino-U.S. relations. His views contend with the perspective that looks at Sino-U.S. relations in the context of a clash of civilizations，which was put forth by political scientist Samuel Huntington.

Brazinsky's theory proposed that in an age of globalization where the individuals and countries are interconnected, the rise of one country does not necessarily mean the decline of other countries.

"The shared benefits of the Sino-U.S. relationship outweigh the loss. For example, Chinese enterprises' investment in the states has created a large amount of job opportunities for Americans."

Brazinsky also touches China with personal traveling experiences. He found that Chinese citizens are supportive of the central government's policies. And he insists on holding a more neutral and balance view to different nations, "such as China, which brings its resourceful philosophic and cultural wisdom to the world."

"Chinese history, especially the diplomatic archives decoded in recent years, is pretty intriguing. And it has been very helpful to my research." he said.

By Li Yancheng, People's Daily Online