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China Welcomes Zepp-LaRouche’s China Petition

Beijing Welcomes Helga Zepp-LaRouche’s ‘Declaration of China Experts from All Over the World’

March 26 (EIRNS)—The Spokesperson’s Office of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released the statement following today:

The French Schiller Institute statement condemned the recent anti-China movement. Chinese Spokesperson Hua Chunying stated: “It reflects the rational and just voice of insightful people in the international community.”

At the regular press conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on March 26, a CCTV reporter from the main station asked: “On March 24, the Schiller Institute released on its website a ‘Declaration of China Experts from all Over the World,’ which was jointly signed by 34 dignitaries from 18 countries, including former politicians, diplomats and scholars. The statement condemned the recent international anti-China movement, and called on the West to acknowledge China’s development achievements and splendid culture, have cooperation rather than confrontation with China. What is China’s comment?”

Hua Chunying: “We have taken note of the above-mentioned statement. It represents the rational and just voice of visionary people in the world, condemns and rejects the crazy words and deeds of the western anti-China forces that wantonly attack, smear and even crafted rumors against China in disregard of facts.

“The signatories of the statement have either lived and worked in China, or traveled to China on a regular basis for long stays. They all have first-hand experience and objective observation of China. Many of them have witnessed the remarkable achievement China has scored since reform and opening up. They witnessed the journey where the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese government, with a people-centered approach, led 850 million Chinese people out of extreme poverty. More recently, they have seen how 1.4 billion Chinese people, united as one, defeated the COVID-19 epidemic. Their statement once again proves that seeing is believing.

“As a matter of fact, many foreign friends who have been living in or dealing with China for many years find that the closer they get to China, the more they will see that China in reality is far from, or even completely opposite to the image some Western media and politicians try to portray. I saw a lot of video clips uploaded by foreigners saying that they realized they were fooled by foreign media reports only after arriving in China and seeing the country as it is. China has always been open to the world. We welcome people from across the world to get closer to us and understand China. We hope certain individuals in the west will discard bias, return to rationality, liberate their thinking, seek truth from facts and view China from an objective perspective.”

Spokesperson’s Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Official release of China’s foreign policy
Authoritative interpretation of China’s position and attitude


Schiller Institute Representative Addresses High Level Conference in Beijing

On Oct. 29, Hussein Askary, Southwest Asia Coordinator of the Schiller Institute, addressed the Belt and Road International Food Industry Conference, sponsored by China People’s Daily, Global Times and China Food News and supervised by the official state Belt and Road Portal. The conference addressed the impact of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and China's development model on food security in China and globally. The main panel was opened by such senior officials as former Director of the State Council Office of Poverty Alleviation Liu Jian, who also earlier served as deputy Agriculture Minister. He was followed by the former spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and member of the Public Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sun Yuxi, who is currently Member of the Public Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Hussein Askary, in his speech, first outlined the past 24 year' efforts of the Schiller Institute to promote the global connectivity now associated with the New Silk Road and the Eurasian-African Land-Bridge. He expressed his and the Schiller Institute’s gratitude to President Xi Jinping for launching the BRI in 2013, which has “already changed the world, ushering in a new set of international relations based on economic cooperation and mutual development, which will have great implications for food security in the world.” That would not have been possible, Askary stressed, “without China’s amazing industrialization process of the past three decades.”

He went on to review the immense positive changes in the living conditions of the Chinese people, including the increase in food production and consumption, with a more diversified diet for the people. However, this new diet, with greater emphasis on proteins, is a more capital-intensive process. “You can expect that this process will be replicated in every country and part of the world that the BRI reaches, with the increase in living conditions and, consequently, in food consumption.” Askary reviewed the UN-produced “Hunger Map of the World” showing that 800 million people lack adequate food today. However, the most hungry nations, especially in Africa and West Asia, are now joining the BRI to alleviate this terrible situation, and "we have to imagine how much land and technology will be required to achieve this goal". With the world population poised to double by 2050, only such massive initiatives as the BRI can address this challenge, Askary concluded. The conference, including Askary’s speech received wide coverage in Chinese media, including postings of Askary’s speech in full on several websites. According to China Daily, the “Belt and Road” Food Industry International Summit is a world-class food industry conference with the participation of the food industry and the food industry related trade associations, industry associations, well-known enterprises and social organizations.” (The official website of the conference, that of The Belt and Road Global Chambers of Commerce and Associations, is http://www.msdnba.com/topics?id=15.html)


Participates in the Beijing Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation

Helga Zepp-Larouche Participates in the Beijing Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation

‘We are in a phase-change for humankind!’

May 15 — Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder and president of the International Schiller Institute, is right in the middle of the action in Beijing during the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. This comes after decades of leadership by Lyndon and Helga LaRouche for just this kind of mobilization for worldwide development. Since the 1990s, and Zepp-LaRouche’s first participation in an international conference in China, where she called for a “Eurasian Land-Bridge,” she has become widely known as the Silk Road Lady.

Helga Zepp-LaRouche on CGTN’s “Dialogue”

Representing the Schiller Institute, Helga Zepp-LaRouche spoke on May 14, on the first day of the B&R Forum, on the panel, “Belt and Road for Facilitating Strong, Balanced, Inclusive and Sustainable Global Economy.” She said, “The Belt and Road Initiative has the obvious potential of quickly becoming a World Land Bridge, connecting all continents through infrastructure, such as tunnels, bridges, reinforced by the Maritime Silk Road. As such, it represents a new form of globalization, but not determined by the criteria of profit maximization for the financial sector, but for the harmonious development of all participating countries on the basis of Win-Win cooperation.

(Xi Jinping opening speech: Video & Transcript)

“It is therefore important, that one does not look at the BRI from the standpoint of an accountant, who projects his statistical viewpoint of cost-benefit into the future, but that we think about it as a Vision for the Community of a Shared Future. Where do we want humanity as a whole to be in 10, 100, or even in a 1000 years?” Is it not the natural destiny of mankind, as the only creative species known in the universe so far, that we will be building villages on the moon, develop a deeper understanding of the trillions of galaxies in our universe, solve the problem of–’til now–incurable diseases, or solve the problem of energy and raw material security through the develipment of thermonuclear fusion power? By focusing on the common aims of humanity we will be able to overcome geopolitics and establish a higher level of reason for the benefit of all.”

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In particular, Zepp-LaRouche addressed the question of the role of the United States, whose delegation in Beijing was led by a special adviser to Pres. Trump. Presenting the most positive, ‘big picture,’ Zepp-LaRouche explained, “Looking at the world land map, the United States is not merely a country surrounded by two oceans and two neighbors, but can be a center part of an infrastructure corridor which connects the southern tip of Ibero-America, through Central and South America, with the Eurasian transport system via a tunnel under the Bering Strait…”

Predictably, the geopolitics crowd, centered in London, is having a fit. The Economist in London today ran a stream of bilge, headlined, “The Economist explains, “What Is China’s Belt and Road Initiative?” They write that businessmen in Central Asia call it the “One Road, One Trap,” because B&R projects are unreliable. And “the Belt and Road Forum has an unfortunate acronymn, BARF,” etc.

But back in reality, not only does the Belt and Road Forum mark the process of potential world economic and scientific lift-off, but there is a vital process underway of deliberation over points of immediate suffering and possible all-out war. President Trump’s envoy in Beijing, Matthew Pottinger, is now in South Korea for consultations over concerns in the region. On Syria, as peace talks start on May 16, called “Geneva 6,” numbers of meetings are set for this week, of Mediterranean leaders who met in Beijing with both Xi and Putin. In Washington, D.C., May 16, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet with President Trump. On May 17, in Sochi, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni will meet with Putin. Likewise, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras met in Beijing with Xi, Putin, and also with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Today Helga Zepp-LaRouche summed up the great potential–our great challenge–by describing the May 14 opening of the Belt and Road Forum: “Yesterday was a fantastic, historic moment!” She was speaking on China Global Television Network’s “Dialogue with Yang Rui” program, run live, prime time. She exclaimed, “We are in a “phase-change for humankind!”


Helga Zepp-LaRouche on CGTN ‘Dialogue’

May 15, 2017

Helga Zepp-LaRouche is a feature guest in a program “Dialogue” on CGTN, 24-hour English news channel of China Central Television (CCTV), based in Beijing, on the eve of “the Belt and Road Forum” held on May 14 – 15 in China.

Transcript of Q&A on ‘Dialogue’

Q. What do you make of China’s global ambition?

Helga Zepp-LaRouche: I think it’s very important strategic initiative because it’s the only way how you solve all problems–regional, cooperation, underdevelopment, poverty. It’s really a historic mission. I cannot see anything else, not from the United States, for sure, not from Europe and so I’m really optimistic. I think yesterday was a fantastic, historic moment.

Q: But, do you think China is ready?

Zepp-LaRouche: Oh, I think so. First of all, the Chinese economic miracle of the last 30 years has surprised the world. And now through the Belt and Road Initiative, China is offering to export that model of development to other countries. And if you look at the success of the Belt and Road Initiative in the last four years, it is absolutely breathtaking! And I am shocked — every day the Chinese government comes up with a new initiative, which offers a solution to a problem. And it’s just very attractive idea. This is why so many countries want to be part of it. It’s much more attractive to have win-win cooperation in the context of the New Silk Road than to be part of a military alliance, which just gets countries into trouble. So this is why the whole center of power has completely shifted to Asia. And I am convinced that yesterday we experienced the formation of a new world economic order. It was a truly historic moment, and I think most of the participants at the Belt and Road Forum had that profound sense of being in the middle of making history for a new era for civilization. And I am very excited because this is a phase-change of humankind. I think we are on the verge of…

Yang Rui: No wonder President Xi Jinping calls the Belt and Road Initiative the project of the century.

Q: [India says] Hey, the Sino-Pakistani economic corridor will somehow go through the contentious territorial area of India, Kashmir; therefore, they refuse to get involved with the Belt and Road Initiative. The spokesperson of the Indian Foreign Ministry even protested against the idea of the economic corridor between China and its geopolitical rival, Pakistan. What do you think of the rivalry, the geopolitical rivalry that China wants to really keep a distance from?

Zepp-LaRouche: Well, first of all, India has always been the subcontinent and therefore they have a long tradition of geopolitical thinking. But, I think this has been reinforced by the British colonialism, and the British, and formerly the U.S. administration before Trump played on that. They played Pakistan as the state terrorism state, and trying to hype up sentiments in India to further this conflict. And I think the opposite is true. Because of the British division of India into Pakistan, Bangladesh and India, the only way how this can be overcome is increasing the connectivity among all the countries–Nepal, Bangladesh–all these countries want to be integrated. And they call it “connectivity”; they don’t call it the “Silk Road” and they don’t call it “Belt and Road Initiative,” because that’s associated with China. But in substance, all of these countries are urging for more development like that.

Q: What’s interesting is that both sides [China and U.S.] announced their joint projects, the list of projects, simultaneously. Do you think something must have been discussed at the Mar-a-Lago summit in Florida, between Trump and President Xi Jinping? And actually the announcement of this list of mega-projects between the two sides is an indispensable part of what has been agreed upon by the two heads of state?

Zepp-LaRouche: I think so, because President Trump has announced that he wants to have investment in $1 trillion worth of infrastructure in the next ten years. The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that $4.5 trillion actually is required, and Chinese experts have said that the United States needs $8 trillion worth of infrastructure. Now China in the past years has shown a tremendous expertise in building fast trains and other projects of infrastructure, and China has also $1.4 trillion in U.S. Treasuries, which we have proposed it invest in an infrastructure bank or national bank in the United States, and then invest in the building of infrastructure. Now that would be a total game change. And if China, in return, would invest in the Chinese market, which is growing because of the growing buying power, you could replace the competition between the United States and China through cooperation. And then they could join hands and have joint investments in third countries, like rebuilding the Middle East, developing of Africa. I think it’s important that you’re not just talking about infrastructure and economics. We are really talking about a new era of civilization, where you replace geopolitics with a completely new set of relations among countries. And if the United States and China could solve this–you know, I have said many times that if President Trump would go for this, he could become one of the greatest Presidents in the history of the United States. And many of his critics don’t think that is possible, but I am absolutely convinced that we are very close to it.

Q: In effect, overseas observers pointed out, it seemed as if [President Xi] was talking to two audiences at the opening ceremony. For the international audience, he promised to export our technology, our ideas about Belt and Road Initiative, to reestablish the world order and to reconsider the idea of globalization internally. He also promised to rejuvenate the nation, to tell a China story through the Belt and Road Initiative…. To the surprise of many who are very skeptical about the economic relationship between Japan and China, two arch-competitors, economically and geopolitically as well, the Japanese government decided to send a senior delegation, which was headed by the head of the ruling party, the LDP, Liberal Democratic Party. And this head of the delegation also handed over a letter from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the host of the Belt and Road Initiative summit. What do you think of the possibility that Japan will seize this opportunity to drastically improve, not only the balance of ties, but also to enjoy the dividends of the Belt and Road Initiative, so that it will not be excluded from rebuilding the world economic order?

Zepp-LaRouche: I think it is very clear that Prime Minister Abe has the intention to do that. I think he sent de facto the number two of the LDP to the summit. I think it has to do with the change in perception that the world is indeed changing. If you look at the rapprochement between Russia and Japan over the last period where Abe has the intention to have a peace treaty during his time in office. There were many visits of Abe to Russia, and vice versa, Putin was in Tokyo, so I think given the fact that China has a very close relationship with Russia, and the offensive policies of the United States, of intervention in foreign wars — with Trump, he has said he doesn’t want to do this anymore, the situation in the South China Sea has completely shifted, it’s no longer such an important hot spot — I think we are on the verge of fixing the world according to completely new rules. And I think it’s really a time for people to rethink and not stick to old geopolitical schemes, which have been in the Cold War, because we are on the verge of a completely new era of civilization, and I think what Abe did, reflects that.

Q: Ironically, the young leader of the D.P.R.K. test fired a missile to coincide with the policy speech by President Xi Jinping at the Opening Ceremony. Yet the elected leader of the R.O.K., Mr. Moon, promised to reconsider the deployment of the THAAD, a missile…. That may have paved the way for an apparent improvement in the relationship, which has been frayed seriously by the THAAD deployment. What do you think of the R.O.K. delegation and in fact, a rumor went around the internet that President Trump called for a boycott of the belt and road summit saying “Hey, why did you invite the D.P.R.K. to attend the summit when the international society, through the UN Security Council imposed yet another economic sanction — which I believe is well underway — what do you think of the concerns, allegedly, the major concerns by the international media?… But I am afraid that those who are very skeptical about China’s intent, may point out, citing President Bush, Jr., that bad behavior should not be rewarded. So this invitation for the D.P.R.K. delegation has been very controversial. I’d like to have your take?

Zepp-LaRouche: Well, I think there are some people who are thinking in terms of the old paradigm of geopolitics, and they can just not imagine that a country, especially a large country like China would be motivated by Confucian ideas. And I have studied China for the better part of my life, and I have come to the conclusion that the present government, in particular, is not based on anything other but the Confucian idea of harmony among nations. And some people realize that. For example the Italian Prime Minister Gentiloni who at the Belt and Road Forum, gave a fantastic speech, where he said…

Q: Excuse me, but harmony would become a lost sense, if we do not respect some of the principles, which have a lot to do with national security. The nuclear program of the D.P.R.K. has indeed endangered three northern provinces if any nuclear fallout were to occur! That would be a major threat [crosstalk] to national security.

Zepp-LaRouche: But the new President of South Korea has basically said that he wants to go back to the Sunshine Policy of economic cooperation with the North. North Korea only has nuclear missiles because they were afraid they would have the same fate as Saddam Hussein or Qaddafi. And once the threat is away and we return to the Six Party Talks and the Sunshine Policy, and especially if this is in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative, I am absolutely confident that this problem will go away very shortly.

Q. The last question is whether there’s going to be a collision or a clash between Russia’s brainchild of having the Eurasian Economic Union and the Belt and Road Initiative? Because there have been speculations by the media who say, “Hey, Russia may show its great concern about China’s interference with the internal affairs of its traditional backyard, Central Asia through perhaps the role of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.” And therefore, they focus on whether there’s going to be inconsistency and discrepancy between Russia’s Economic Union and the Belt and Road Initiative: What’s your take?

Zepp-LaRouche: You will be happy to hear that President Putin, who was the guest of honor at the Belt and Road Forum, already gave a press conference where he said that not only does Russia support the Belt and Road Initiative, but he will take an active role in promoting it. And if you look at the number of leaders and countries that are now joining, you have a total change in the dynamic– Tsipras from Greece, the Serbian government, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Belarus, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Switzerland–all of these countries have said they want to become hubs of the Belt and Road Initiative. So even if the German Economic Minister at the Forum was not so friendly, let’s say, I think Germany will be soon surrounded by countries that want to be part of it, and I think this will tilt the situation. The former Prime Minister of France Raffarin gave a passionate speech why France should be in it, and he was sent by the new President Macron. So I’m absolutely convinced in half a year, the majority of the nations that are still reluctant will recognize that it is in their best interest. Because, for example, Germany should have a fundamental interest in cooperating. I mean, German industry, the Mittlestand, the medium-sized industry, are exactly the complementary kind of economic force that would perfectly work with China. And I think it will come around., I promise.

Yang: Despite the success of Emmanuel Macron, the European Union is indeed in trouble. And President Trump’s idea of prioritizing American interests, putting America first, may also isolate this country from the rest of the world. During this absence, China is said to be ready to assume the leadership. Is China ready? We’ll keep this discussion open. Until next time, goodbye.


BRF Agenda (pdf) The Fifth Global Think Tank Summit (pdf)

 

‘The Belt and Road becomes the World Land Bridge’

by Helga Zepp-LaRouche

Mrs. Zepp-LaRouche addressed the conference on Sunday and Monday, both at the Thematic Session on Think Tank Exchanges and at the 5th Global Think Tank Summit.


There has been a breathtaking dynamic of the New Silk Road in the three and a half years since pronounced by President Xi Jinping in 2013. The Belt and Road Initiative has the obvious potential of quickly becoming a World Land Bridge, connecting all continents through infrastructure, such as tunnels, bridges, reinforced by the Maritime Silk Road. As such, it represents a new form of globalization, but not determined by the criteria of profit maximization for the financial sector, but for the harmonious development of all participating countries on the basis of Win-Win cooperation.

It is therefore important, that one does not look at the BRI from the standpoint of an accountant, who projects his statistical viewpoint of cost-benefit into the future, but that we think about it as a Vision for the Community of a Shared Future. Where do we want humanity as a whole to be in 10, 100, or even in a 1000 years? Is it not the natural destiny of mankind, as the only creative species known in the universe so far, that we will be building villages on the moon, develop a deeper understanding of the trillions of galaxies in our universe, solve the problem of till now incurable diseases, or solve the problem of energy and raw material security through the development of thermonuclear fusion power? By focusing on the common aims of humanity we will be able to overcome geopolitics and establish a higher level of reason for the benefit of all.

It is obvious, that the World Land Bridge is ideal for completing the development of the landlocked areas of our planet. The colonization of nearby space will be the obvious next phase of the infrastructural opening up of the natural habitat of man.

Looking at the world land map, the United States is not merely a country surrounded by two oceans and two neighbors, but can be a center part of an infrastructure corridor which connects the southern tip of Ibero America through Central and South America with the Eurasian transport system via a tunnel under the Bering Strait. Since President Xi Jinping made the offer to President Trump for the US to join the Belt and Road Initiative, there is now a practical proposal on the table, where the US can become an integral part of the World Land Bridge. The infrastructure requirements of the US, which are enormous, could be a perfect opportunity to convert all or part of the $1.4 trillion China is holding in US Treasuries into such investments via an infrastructure bank. For example, the US really needs approximately 40,000 miles of fast train lines, if they would want to match the Chinese plan to connect every domestic larger city by fast train by the year 2020.

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The US economy would experience a tremendous boost through such a grand scale infrastructure investment, and could in turn export into the fast growing Chinese market, and once competition is replaced by cooperation, the opportunities for joint ventures between the US and China in third countries are enormous.

Since President Trump has declared his intention to reintroduce the American System of Economy of Alexander Hamilton, Henry C. Clay and Abraham Lincoln, and also reintroduce the Glass Steagall legislation of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the possibility of an early establishment of a National Bank and a Credit System in order to channel Chinese holdings into infrastructure investments is near.

While more and more European nations, both outside and within the EU, are recognizing the tremendous potentials of the BRI and express the intention to become a hub for Eurasian cooperation, the EU itself has been reserved, to be diplomatic.

There is however one huge challenge, where the member states of the EU could be convinced to cooperate with the BRI: It is the refugee crisis. The only human way to heal this moral wound of Europe is the active integration of European nations in a Grand Design development plan for all of Africa with the BRI.

The positive new prospect of US-Russia de-escalation and military to military cooperation in Syria, along with the Astana process, now puts stabilization of the entire region in sight. Offers by China to extend the New Silk Road to Southwest Asia already exist.

The New Silk Road must–as the ancient one did–lead to an exchange of the most beautiful expressions of culture of all participating countries in order to succeed. The true meaning of Win-Win cooperation is not just the material benefit of infrastructure and industrial development, but of making the joyful discovery in other cultures of the beauty of their classical music, poetry and painting, and, by knowing them, strengthen our love for mankind as a whole.

In the building of the World Land Bridge all nations will cooperate on studying how to apply the laws of the Noosphere to the establishment of durable forms of self-government. The development of the creative mental powers of all people in all nations, will give all of mankind the sense of unity and purpose which will make our species truly human. When we organize our societies around scientific and artistic discovery, we will perfect our knowledge on how we can continuously advance the process of self-development of mankind, intellectually, morally and aesthetically, and we will find our freedom in necessity–doing our duty with passion!

 

 

Quotes of World Leaders from the Belt and Road Forum

 

 

Paolo Gentiloni
Italian Prime Minister

‘The Belt and Road Initiative is perhaps the most important infrastructure modernization project underway in the world today… Bringing the Chinese economy closer through this gigantic infrastructural operation is enormously interesting to Italy, not only for our government but also for our universities and public and private businesses.’

 

António Guterres
United Nations Secretary-General

‘The Belt and Road Initiative and the 2030 Agenda… aim to deepen ‘connectivity’ across countries and regions: connectivity in infrastructure, trade, finance, policies and, perhaps most important of all, among peoples.’

 

Alicia Barcena
Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)

‘The Belt and Road Initiative represents a renewal and a profound commitment with the fundamental values of our global social and economic well-being: interconnection, deeper commercial and investment links, transparency and opening-up, and the need to ensure economic growth goes hand-in-hand with social progress. This is a speech concerning a change of era, Chinese President Xi Jinping made a very innovative proposal, with a panoramic perspective bringing together the objectives of all the countries.’

 

Hailemariam Desalegn
Ethiopian Prime Minister

‘The Belt and Road Initiative is the largest and non-conflicting economic cooperation of the 21st century.’

 

Jean-Pierre Raffarin
Special envoy of French President-elect Emmanuel Macron, Former French Prime Minister

‘This forum marks a new and decisive step in the progress of the initiative. To remedy the lack of infrastructure in Asia will require the efforts of all those good will ready to contribute to the region’s prosperity and that of the rest of the world.’

 

Michelle Bachelet
Chilean President

‘The breadth of the One Belt, One Road, the high level of participation and its strategic dimensions, highlight its capacity to become the biggest economic cooperation project in place today.’

 

Christine Lagarde
International Monetary Fund Managing Director

‘The Belt and Road Initiative aims to connect economies, communities, and people. It holds great potential to bring benefits in terms of high-quality infrastructure, inclusiveness, and economic cooperation.’

 

Matthew Pottinger
U.S. National Security Council East Asia Director

‘American companies have much to offer here. U.S. firms can offer the best-value goods and services required over the life of a project. U.S. firms have a long and successful track record in global infrastructure development, and are ready to participate in ‘Belt and Road’ projects.’

 

More Quotes

 

Jim Yong Kim
World Bank President

‘For those in the less developed community, our greatest task is to raise our aspirations to meet those of the people living in the countries that are still in need of many more investment for development. The Belt and Road Initiative is most remarkable for just the size of the aspiration.’

 

Milos Zeman
Czech President

‘The One Belt, One Road Initiative is the most significant project in all our modern history. I salute China for this courageous, long-term project.’

 

Philip Hammond
Special envoy of British Prime Minister Theresa May, Chancellor of the Exchequer

‘It is my belief that Britain, lying at the western end of the Belt and Road, is a natural partner in this endeavor.’

 

Najib Razak
Malaysian Prime Minister

‘With the vision of shared prosperity and win-win situation, I believe Malaysia and other countries will realize the potential of the Belt and Road Initiative. The initiative as one that can stimulate development among different sectors and industries via better infrastructure, in turn will facilitate world transportation and logistics, so all countries can access to larger markets.’

 

Roberto Azevedo
World Trade Organization Director-General

‘Infrastructure is essential. A lack of proper transport network was on top of the trade cost list and the One belt, One Road is hugely important in responding to this need.’

 

Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Turkish President

‘This is going to be the kind of initiative that will put an end to terrorism.’

 

Peter Thomson
President of the UN General Assembly

‘The Belt and Road Initiative brings enormous benefits to all involved and serves as a main driver of the global transformation emerged by the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.’

 

Nawaz Sharif
Pakistani Prime Minister

‘Let me make it very clear, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, an economic undertaking, is open to all countries in the region.’

 

Alexis Tsipras
Greek Prime Minister

‘We highly value the importance of this initiative for people-to-people contact, cultural exchanges and tourism, and we see the great opportunities in the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.’

 

Aleksandar Vucic
Serbian Prime Minister and President-elect

‘Serbia is China’s staunch friend and reliable partner. Serbia has benefited enormously from participating in the Belt and Road forum. Key projects of the Belt and Road Initiative have yielded positive results… Serbia expects to deepen cooperation with China in a host of areas, including the economy and trade, mining, infrastructure, finance, aviation and tourism.’

 

Brigitte Zypries
Special envoy of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Minister of Economic Affairs

‘The Belt and Road Initiative aims to improve infrastructure between Asia and Europe. This will bring the world’s two largest trading partners in Asia and Europe closer.’

 

 

Shanghai Daily Interviews Helga Zepp-LaRouche

June 1, 2017

“I think the Belt and Road initiative signifies a revolutionary move to a new epoch of civilization. The idea of having a win-win cooperation among nations is the first time that a concrete concept has been offered to overcome geopolitics…”

– Helga Zepp-LaRouche

Read more


 

NewsGhana

May 16, 2017

“Belt and Road Enterprise Offers Assistance to All”

The Silk Road spirit followed by the Belt and Road initiative offers pioneering ideas for contemporary international cooperation, the delegates told the People’s Daily upon the arrival of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, agreeing that the proposal will bring benefits to all.

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Business Mirror (Philippines)

May 16, 2017

“Is China’s initiative an answer to financial bubble brewing?”

Perhaps, it is wise to learn from history that every time there are solid developmental projects for the good of humankind, the ruling financial oligarchs of this world bank bankroll conflicts and world wars (i.e  the British oligarchs and Wall Street like  the Rothschilds, Harriman, Prescott Bush, et al funded Hitler initially).

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PPP Focus

May 15, 2017

Willing to Turn OBOR into Path for Peace: Xi Jinping

The event was attended by high-level leaders from 29 nations, the United Nations Secretary General, the President of the World Bank (WB), the Director General of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

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Belt and Road Summit: Xinhua Interview with Helga Zepp-LaRouche

May 14, 2017

Helga-Zepp-LaRouche-on-Xinhua-BRI

XinhuaNet Interview: Belt and Road Initiative to become “a true world land bridge

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Belt and Road Summit: China Daily Interview with Helga Zepp-LaRouche

May 14, 2017

People’s Daily Online Interview: Belt and Road Initiative to become “a true world land bridge

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Belt and Road Summit: China Daily (pressreader.com) Interview with Helga Zepp-LaRouche

May 15, 2017

China Daily (pressreader.com) Interview: Belt and Road Initiative to become “a true world land bridge

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Chinese TV Carries Comments from Helga Zepp-LaRouche and Bill Jones in Their Coverage of China’s “Two Sessions”

March 6, 2017 –China United Television, a major TV station in south China’s Shenzhen province, like most of the Chinese channels, is having ongoing news coverage of the two, week-long National People’s Congress and the CPPCC meetings. Interspersed in their coverage of the Congress are comments by Schiller Institute President Helga Zepp-LaRouche and {EIR} Washington Bureau Chief Bill Jones, based on answers to questions that had been pre-recorded and sent to the station for this purpose. The topics included the importance of the U.S.-China relationship, the significance of the Belt and Road, and the possibility of cooperation with the United States in infrastructure investment. Three of the segments can be found at:

http://www.cutv.com/v2/2017-3-4/G16ghgggihkoomjnjlombn.shtml
http://www.cutv.com/v2/2017-3-5/G17hihhhjilppojqhhkwrs.shtml
http://www.cutv.com/v2/2017-3-5/G15fgfffhgjnnmhjoklspo.shtml

 


Xinhua interviews Helga Zepp-LaRouche on US-China relation

The recent interactions between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump, particularly their latest phone conversation, are very positive signs of the potential to develop a new type of bilateral relations, a German expert said Friday.

“President Trump’s letter and subsequent phone call with President Xi Jinping are very positive signs that he indeed wants to develop a constructive relationship with China,” Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder of the Germany-based think tank Schiller Institute, said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.


Shanghai Daily Interviews Helga Zepp-LaRouche

EDITOR’S Note: Helga Zepp-LaRouche visited Shanghai for the first time in the summer of 1971. In 1977 she married American economist Lyndon LaRouche, and the couple have since worked together on development plans for a just new world economic order. Zepp-LaRouche founded the Schiller Institute in 1984, a think tank devoted to the realization of these plans and a renaissance and a dialogue of classical cultures. In 1991 she was a coauthor of a study The Eurasian Land-Bridge/ The New Silk Road and in 2014 of the study The New Silk Road Becomes the World Land-Bridge, which has been translated into Chinese, Arabic, German and Korean. She is an expert in European humanist philosophy and poetry, Confucius, and history. After attending the recent Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, she visited Shanghai, where Shanghai Daily reporter Wan Lixin interviewed her.


Q: In what way do you think the Belt and Road initiative is significant for the world and China?

A: I think the Belt and Road initiative signifies a revolutionary move to a new epoch of civilization. The idea of having a win-win cooperation among nations is the first time that a concrete concept has been offered to overcome geopolitics. Since geopolitics was the cause of the two world wars, I think it is a completely new paradigm of thinking where an idea proposed by one country has the national interest basically in coherence with the interests of humanity as a whole. This has never happened. This has instilled tremendous hope among developing nations that they have the chance to overcome poverty and underdevelopment. And I think this is an initiative that will grow until all the continents are connected through infrastructure and development.

Q: What do you think are challenges confronting the world today?

A: I think the biggest challenge is that the trans-Atlantic financial system is in jeopardy, because the G7 countries did nothing after the financial crisis of 2008 to remedy the root causes of this crisis. The danger today is that we are going to have another financial crisis much worse than that of 2008. In this light I think the financial system associated with the Belt and Road Initiative, like the AIIB (Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank) and similar institutions, which are focused on investment in the real economy, are an anchor. Hopefully the Western nations will rethink their orientation of high risk speculation and eventually go back to the banking system represented by AIIB. U.S. President Trump announced that he will go back to the American economic system of Alexander Hamilton, and that’s potentially the kind of reform that makes the United States fit to cooperate in this new financial system. The second challenge is naturally terrorism. This requires international cooperation, and there I think the Belt and Road could offer a lasting solution by extending the initiative to Southwest Asia, and build up the economy in that part of the world that had been destroyed by wars which were based on lies. Why did you have to solve the problem of terrorism militarily first? You have to have an economic perspective so that people in the regions have hope for the future. So I think ending terrorism would require the Belt and Road Initiative and the reconstruction of the Southwest Asia and Africa.

Q: There has been evolving perception about globalization. How do you think the Belt and Road Initiative is reshaping this perception?

A: The old globalization really went entirely in one direction. First of all it made the deregulation of the markets and high risk speculation easy. And this increased the gap between the rich and the poor in an intolerable way in many countries. This mode of globalization is being rejected, as you can see by the Brexit and the rise of many right-wing movements in Europe. So this model has clearly failed. I think the new Silk Road, the win-win cooperation as proposed by China, has developed in incredible speed in the less than four years since President Xi proposed it. This new model of globalization is based on the common good of all participating countries. This is the more attractive form of globalization and this is why so many countries have joined it.

Q: What do you think are some of the factors that need to be considered when it comes to implementing the Belt and Road initiative across different cultures?

A: The Schiller Institute has organized hundreds of seminars and conferences on the New Silk Road for 26 years. We have always made the point that for this New Silk Road to succeed in the tradition of the old Silk Road, which was also an exchange of ideas and cultures, not just products and technology, you have to combine economic cooperation with dialogue between cultures. This dialogue must be on the highest level, so each culture has to present examples of the best of their culture, like Confucianism, Italian renaissance, the German classical period, and present the best works of arts in music and poetry, paintings and other forms of art. Our experience is that when people get into contact for the first time with expression of such high culture from another culture, they are surprised by its beauty. And this beauty then opens the heart and souls of the people. And this is the best medicine against chauvinism, xenophobia, and prejudice, and it opens the way for the love of other cultures. This is in conformity with Confucian teaching that all activity must be combined with strengthening of love for the mankind, because without that cultural component, that New Silk Road will not flourish.

Q: What do you think such high profile events like the recent summit suggest about China’s role in world affairs?

A: I think it a great honor for me to participate in this Belt and Road Forum, and I was deeply impressed by the speech of President Xi Jinping. Among all participants I spoke with there is consensus that we are actively participating in the shaping of history. All this means that China is right now leading the world in terms of providing the perspective for the future. I think this has been recognized by many countries in Latin America, in Africa, in Asia, and even some European countries start to recognize it is in their best interests to ally with that initiative. So I think it has made clear that China is the only country right now that offers a positive perspective to overcome the strategic bottleneck of our present times.

Q: In the past, the quest for prosperity invariably led to competition, strife, or wars. Is this avoidable?

A: Concerning the question of competition, strife and war, I think this must be replaced by joint development. Here I would like to quote from Pope Paul VI who said that “Development is the new name for peace.”

Q: How do you think the West responds to the Belt and Road Initiative?

A: The responses have been mixed, because you have those who want to stick to the old geopolitical thinking, to the status quo of their power, and to their understanding of their power position. I think this is an outdated way of thinking. Many think-tanks of the West are still publishing reports along these lines. But there is a wind of change. Many European countries have realized the potential of collaborating with the Belt and Road, which includes Greece, Serbia, Hungary, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Switzerland. So I think this tendency will increase. Those countries which are more reserved — like Germany — will have to change. But I think German industries, particularly those middle-sized industries, are absolutely in cooperation with China in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Q: Say something about your China experience.

A: I was first in Shanghai 46 years ago in 1971, after traveling on a cargo ship. Although it was not the best time to be in China, it had awakened my love for China. The city has changed completely. Except for some buildings on the Bund, I couldn’t find anything in my memory. I could not think of any other countries in the planet that have seen such gigantic changes. I think the Chinese people are much too modest. They should feel more confident about what they have accomplished. They have created the biggest miracle of the world, even bigger than the post-war German economic miracle. They should be very proud to be Chinese. The decision by Moody’s Investors Service to cut China’s sovereign ratings is insane. In German we have a saying: People should touch their own nose first before they made a stupid criticism.

(source: Shanghai Dailyhttp://www.shanghaidaily.com/opinion/chinese-perspectives/Belt-and-Road-initiative-instills-hope-for-peace-and-development-among-nations/shdaily.shtml

 


Zepp-LaRouche Addresses a Forum at Largest Publishing House in China

In a major address to an audience of between 100 and 200 people at the Phoenix Press Publishing Group at their headquarters in Nanjing, China, Helga Zepp-LaRouche, the president of the Schiller Institute, gave a report-back from her attendance at the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing.

“The Belt and Road has injected optimism into many countries,” Zepp-LaRouche said, “and the momentum is unstoppable,” but bringing it fully to fruition “will not be easy.” Immediately after the summit, she continued, the attacks against the Belt and Road escalated, combined with attacks against President Trump, who had sent a high-level delegation to the BRI Summit. “The attacks were based on the absurd charges of collusion with Russia in the election,” she said.

“After the Cold War, the British and their American allies wanted to create a unipolar world,” she said. “And in doing so they have destroyed the Middle East and left it in a shambles.” And this precipitated the refugee crisis, the general reaction against “globalization,” and the rise of right-wing movements. “The Belt and Road,” she said, “will bring about the creation of the World Land-Bridge, which will connect all continents. And this is something we have been fighting for, for over 40 years,” she said.

She then described the fight of her and her husband, Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr., to build a new world economic order: LaRouche’s call for an International Development Bank, the fight for the African development plan, and the Ibero-American initiative in the same direction in collaboration with Mexican President Jose Lopez Portillo, and the hundreds of seminars on five continents held by the Schiller Institute calling for a Belt and Road development.

“Transforming the Belt and Road to a World Land-Bridge will realize politically for the first time a real future for all the people living on this planet and will establish forms of governance for the world.” But to fully realize this, she said, “you must also study the ideas of my husband on the question of economics.”

Zepp-LaRouche then went through the all-important cultural aspects of the Belt and Road and the need for all of the different cultures involved to bring out their finest achievements, in order to use these to create a dialogue of cultures among the nations on the Belt and Road. She then went through the importance of Friedrich Schiller in German and Western culture and the importance of Confucius in Chinese culture, making a concrete comparison of the works of Schiller and Confucius and showing the close similarity in the ideas of these two great thinkers which were separated in time by almost 2000 years .

Zepp-LaRouche was followed by Bill Jones, the Washington Bureau Chief of EIR, who showed a power point presentation describing the struggle of the LaRouche organization from the time of Nixon’s abandonment of the Bretton Woods system. He described the 1970s attack of the Club of Rome and the publication of “Limits to Growth,” which was intended to transform the culture of progress into the culture of death with the international push for Zero Economic Growth and Zero Population Growth. He outlined the reaction of Lyndon LaRouche and the LaRouche organization to the Zero Growth movement, LaRouche’s call for the International Development Bank (IDB), and the subsequent call for the IDB and a New World Economic Order at the Colombo meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1976, and by Guyana’s Foreign Minister, Fred Wills, at the U.N. General Assembly.

Jones described the struggle waged by LaRouche to bring President Ronald Reagan, who had adopted LaRouche’s concept of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) as a peace proposal with the Soviet Union, into a working relationship with the progressive leaders in the developing sector, such as Mexican President Lopez Portillo and Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. These efforts then led to a reaction by the people around Vice President George H.W. Bush, who connived to have LaRouche and several of his associates incarcerated on trumped-up charge. The election of President William Clinton brought LaRouche out of prison and back into an advisory role, with President Clinton’s attempts, albeit unsuccessful, to move in the direction of a new financial architecture. The creation of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) represent, therefore, the type of structures that LaRouche and his movement have been trying to bring about for over four decades, Jones explained.

This was followed by Professor Bao Shixiu, a professor of military science, who outlined the strategic importance of the Belt and Road for China, showing how it will allow the country to overcome the traditional difficulties it has had with other countries, including India and Japan. Professor Bao underlined the seminal role of the LaRouches in bringing this initiative to the forefront, and the ongoing struggle of Lyndon and Helga LaRouche to overcome the opposition to it from the London-New York financial elites. Professor Bao also laid out both the economic and strategic implications of the Belt and Road for China, which would help ensure a harmonious climate in the region and in the world, which would allow it and all other countries to continue to develop.

There was a great deal of interest exhibited by the audience, particularly in Helga Zepp-LaRouche’s call for the dialogue of cultures and a heightened degree of interest in the work of Friedrich Schiller among the Phoenix staff, some of whom seemed to have had a rather extensive exposure to the works of German culture.


Belt and Road Forum

May 14 – 15, 2017, Beijing, China

Belt and Road Forum page >>

 

 


Helga Zepp-LaRouche Speaks in New Delhi

March 2, 2016 (Schiller Institute)–Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder and Chairwoman of the Schiller Institute, spoke today in New Delhi at the Raisina Dialogue, co-sponsored by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs and the Observer Research Foundation. The two-day conference is described by its organizers as being “designed to explore prospects and opportunities for Asian integration as well as Asia’s integration with the larger world.” The event hosted more than 100 speakers from over 100 countries.


Helga Zepp-LaRouche’s Presentation (Video)

 

Helga Zepp-LaRouche’s Presentation (Audio)

 

Transcript of presentation

MODERATOR: Now we have Mrs. Helga Zepp-LaRouche to speak on the Chinese Belt and Road initiative…. You have the floor.

HELGA ZEPP-LAROUCHE: Well, thank you very much. I want to thank the organizers of this very distinguished forum to give me the opportunity to speak. Because I think most people know that mankind is in one of its most severe crises, and maybe the most important crisis in all of our history. The strategic situation is described by many analysts as more dangerous than during the height of the Cold War, which was the Cuban Missile Crisis; the trans-Atlantic financial system is headed for a new crisis, worse than 2008; and the refugee crisis in Europe is really not only a tremendous humanitarian crisis, but it is about to explode the EU.

Now, the question is, are we as a human civilization capable of changing wrong policies which have led to this crisis, or are we doomed to repeat the mistakes which have led, due to geopolitics, to two world wars in the 20th Century? But fortunately, we are also witnessing the emergence of a completely new paradigm. Under the leadership of the BRICS countries, a completely new set of relations among states is developing, based on mutual interest, economic cooperation, and collaboration in future-oriented, high-technology areas, such as thermonuclear fusion, the research into space, and therefore a deeper understanding of the physical principles of our universe.

The Chinese New Silk Road program, One Belt, One Road, is offering the Chinese economic miracle to be repeated in every country which wants to cooperate in this win-win perspective. Already 65 states are participating in this new model of cooperation, and it is in the process of overcoming geopolitics, and with that, the source of war, potentially forever.

The new agreement between U.S. Secretary of State Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov concerning a ceasefire for Syria, is potentially a game-changer for the entire strategic situation, provided that especially Russia, China, and India immediately work with the countries of Southwest Asia to implement a comprehensive build-up program, not only for the war-torn countries of Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, but for the entire region from Afghanistan to the Mediterranean, from the Caucasus to the Persian Gulf. And with the trip of President Xi Jinping to the region, to Iran, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, the extension of the Silk Road is now on the table.

The Schiller Institute published a 370-page study with the title, “The New Silk Road Becomes the World Land-Bridge,” which is already available in Chinese, in Arabic, and soon in Korean, which is a blueprint for a comprehensive build-up of the whole world economy. It contains a very concrete plan for Southwest Asia. So this region, between Asia, Europe, and Africa, has a huge development potential, with great human and natural resources, and it is uniquely located.

The Five Seas strategy announced in 2004 by President Assad can still be a reference point for an infrastructure net between the Mediterranean Sea, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, the Caspian Sea, and the Black Sea, making this region potentially a prosperious hub, for the vast increases of trade between Asia, Europe, and Africa. Two major development corridors, one east-west, and another one north-south, will not only include integrated fast train systems, highways, pipelines, water projects, industries, and agriculture. With modern technologies, such as nuclear energy for the desalination of vast amounts of ocean water and the ionization of moisture in the atmosphere, we can green the desert and reconquer large areas of the desert for agriculture and human habitation. The New Silk Road, which already extends from Chongqing and Yiwu to Tehran, where the first Silk Road train arrived three weeks ago, can be extended from there via Baghdad, Amman, Aqaba, and then continue through a tunnel to Sharm el-Sheikh in the Southern Sinai to Cairo. The route crosses the Euphrates River, where ancient travel routes can be transformed into modern corridors, from the Basra port in Iraq at the Perusian Gulf, northwest to Aleppo. Existing railroads along the Euphrates in Iraq and a railroad between Aleppo in Syria and Deir ez-Zor on the Euphrates, should be modernized, and a new line from there to Baghdad connecting the main arteries of the Silk Road should be built. Again, this corridor should not just be rail, but should integrate transport, energy production, distribution, communications, and create the conditions governing the location for the development of industry and new cities. A land route to India connecting the Iranian rail network up to Zahedan on the Iran-Pakistan border, is on schedule to be completed. Other lines, for time reasons very briefly: from Deir ez-Zor to Tadmor-Palmyra to Damascus and Beirut. A north-south link from Syria to the industrial zones of the Suez Canal; a north-south railway from Damascus to Mecca and Medina; a tunnel under the Bab el Mandeb Strait from Djibouti to the Arab Peninsula, and links to Europe, the Black Sea, and Russia. India has good relations with practically all the countries of the region and has been asked already by Russia and China, to play a mediating role in such a developing perspective. As Prime Minister Modi said, 65% of the Indian population is under 35 years of age, and that is the greatest asset of the country.

These youth must be not only given a vision, to help to increase the productivity of Indian agriculture through the use of power, water, fertilizer, high-variety seeds, and so forth, so that the number of working people as farmers can be halved and that land be used for a build-up of infrastructure. But the youth of India can also be inspired to take it as their own mission, to participate in the economic transformation of Southwest Asia and Africa, and in this way, be part of creating a future for all of mankind. The realization of such a development perspective, is the only way how to end the refugee crisis and revive the economies of Europe and the United States, and to develop all of Asia. [applause]

 

For the first time the Indian Ministry of external affairs hosted together with the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi from the 1st to 3rd of March 2016.

The conference, with over 600 guests from over 100 nations, focused on Asia’s physical, economic, human and digital connectivity as well as the needed international partnerships to address the challenges in this century effectively.

The participation of speakers involved policy and decision makers, including cabinet ministers from various governments, high-level government officials and policy practitioners, leading personalities from business and industry, members of the strategic community, media and academia. Among the inaugural speakers were the Ministers of Foreign Affairs from Bangladesh and India, Abdul Hassan Mahmood Ali and Sushma Swaraj, and several former presidents: Hamid Karzai (Afghanistan), Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga (Sri Lanka), and Sir James Mancham (Seychelles). Furthermore the conference was addressed by the Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar, several other ministers of India, as well as Li Zhaoxing, former foreign minister of China. Ding Guorong, Senior Vice President of the Silk Road Fund, as well as many other incumbent and former politicians and last but not least the founder and head of the Schiller-Institute, Helga Zepp- LaRouche.

The panels addressed different aspects:

Under the title of “Wither European Union” the panelists, among them two members of European parliament dealt with the challenges of the Euro-zone with the refugee crisis and terrorism. Most of them blamed the lack of solidarity among the member states as the core reason to the crisis. In the Q&A session Helga Zepp-LaRouche could intervene by bringing in the only way how to solve the refugee crisis, the kind of Marshall Plan to rebuilt the whole region which was destroyed by all these wars. Even though the panelists did not respond directly to it, it made a huge effect and was brought up by another speaker later in the afternoon and in different side discussions. In her speech in the panel “Connecting a Continent: An Asian Union” Helga Zepp- LaRouche elaborated that idea in a much bigger context of the New Silk Road Process as the only means to avoid thermonuclear war. In the Q&A session she was able to elaborate her on her remarks and uplift the discussion into the strategic outlook.

Throughout the proceedings of the event many thankful and concerned people asked Mrs. Zepp-LaRouche to elaborate more on the issues she raised, especially on the war danger and the New Silk Road initiative.

Other panels included topics as “Asias Strategic Order”, which addressed the role of nuclear weapons vis-a-vis stability in the region, or “Waters of Asia”, which dealt with the transnational development of river basins and implications of energy corridors and international waterways. There were also several panels on different security items, one focussing on asymmetrical and sub-conventional security threats from state and non-state actors and how to respond to these.

The program to the conference can be found at: http://raisinadialogue.org


Zepp-LaRouche in Xi’an: How to Help the West Better Understand the Belt & Road Initiative

by Helga Zepp-LaRouche

Presented at the 2019 Euro-Asia Economic Forum, which took place in historic Xi’an, China, bringing together over 1,000 people, representing more than 58 nations from Europe and Asia, for two days of presentations and discussion. Helga Zepp-LaRouche gave this speech as the keynote presentation to the Forum’s “Think Tank Meeting” on Sept. 11. 

For most Chinese, it is very difficult to understand why so many institutions in the West are reacting so negatively to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, or New Silk Road), and why an anti-Chinese mood has been stirred up recently; why in the USA, for example, Chinese scientists and 450,000 students are suspected of being spies, which is reminiscent of the worst days of the McCarthy period, while in Europe, some security authorities are making similar allegations. It is difficult to understand, because the Chinese people experience the reality of the BRI from a completely different perspective.

For the people of China, the experience of the last 40 years of reform and opening-up policy since Deng Xiaoping is an incredible success story. From a relatively poor developing country—as I myself experienced it in 1971, when I was in China for the first time—China has developed into the second, and in some categories even the first national economy in the world. Eight hundred million people have been freed from poverty; a wealthy middle class of 300 million and soon 600 million people with a good standard of living has developed. The pace of modernization is unparalleled in the world, as is demonstrated, for example, by the expansion of a 30,000-kilometer high-speed railway system that will soon connect all the major cities.

Schiller Institute founder, Helga Zepp-LaRouche addresses the 2019 Euro-Asia Economic Forum.

Schiller Institute founder, Helga Zepp-LaRouche addresses the 2019 Euro-Asia Economic Forum.

Since President Xi Jinping put the New Silk Road on the agenda in Kazakhstan, in September 2013, China has also made cooperation with the Chinese model of success available to all other states for “win-win” cooperation. In the mere six years that have passed since then, there has been an incredible response to the BRI, which now has 130 nations and more than 30 large international organizations cooperating with it. This, the largest infrastructure project in human history, has launched six major corridors, built railway lines, expanded ports, built industrial parks and science cities, and for the first time offers developing countries the opportunity to overcome poverty and underdevelopment.

From the very beginning, the BRI has been open to all the countries of the world. President Xi Jinping has not only explicitly offered cooperation to the USA and Europe, but has also said in countless speeches, that he is proposing a completely new model of international cooperation among nations, a “community for the shared future of mankind.” In doing so, he has proposed a higher conception of cooperation, unprecedented in history, which overcomes geopolitics and replaces it with a harmonious system of development for the benefit of all. In this sense, the BRI is the absolutely necessary economic basis for a peace order for the 21st century!

While in many countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, and even some in Europe, the New Silk Road is welcomed as the greatest vision, as a concept of “peace through development,” as Pope Paul VI had formulated it in his encyclical of 1967, Populorum Progressio (On the Development of Peoples)—yet its adversaries call the same policy a “competition of systems.” Many Chinese do not understand why this violent reaction, fuelled by geopolitical motives, is taking place. Meanwhile, the West has begun to habituate itself to the changes that have fundamentally altered its political orientation and its scale of values over almost the last 50 years.

The crucial point is that a paradigm shift has taken place in the West since 1971, leading in the opposite direction from the path that China has taken.

Toward a New Fascism

When President Nixon triggered the dissolution of the Bretton Woods System on August 15, 1971, with its fixed exchange rates and gold reserve standard of the dollar, he set the course towards an increasing renunciation of a policy oriented toward the real physical economy, in favor of a policy aimed at the monetary profits of the financial economy, which was increasingly oriented toward maximizing those profits.

This tendency was reinforced by the abolition, in 1999, of the Glass-Steagall banking separation system, and the accompanying complete deregulation of the financial markets, which led to repeated financial bubbles, and finally to the crash of 2008. Yet the central banks have done absolutely nothing to remove the causes of that crash, but on the contrary, have promoted speculation in the casino economy at the expense of the real economy, through continued quantitative easing, zero interest rates and now even negative interest rates. As a result, the trans-Atlantic financial system, today, faces the danger of an even more dramatic crash than that of 11 years ago.

The late American economist, Lyndon H. LaRouche, JR. , 2018

The late American economist, Lyndon H. LaRouche, JR. , 2018

The American economist Lyndon LaRouche, my recently deceased husband, farsightedly warned in August 1971, that a continuation of Nixon’s monetarist policy would lead to the danger of a new depression and a new fascism—if it were not replaced by a new world economic order.

In 1972, LaRouche also opposed the Malthusian-inspired thesis of the Club of Rome, that the “limits to growth” had supposedly been reached; a false doctrine on which the entire environmentalist movement is still based today, and which has led to a “greening” of a large part of the political party spectrum of the West.

LaRouche replied with his book, There Are No Limits to Growth, which emphasizes the role of human creativity as the engine of scientific and technological progress, which is the factor that defines what a “resource” is. At the same time, he also warned that the shift in values towards a rock-drug-sex counterculture associated with this neo-liberal economic policy, would, in the medium term, destroy the cognitive faculties of the population, and thus not only cause a cultural crisis, but also ruin the productivity of the economy.

Unfortunately, this is exactly where we are today.

China took the opposite path in 1978. It replaced the anti-technology policy of the Gang of Four, with a dirigist real economy, based on innovation and financed by a state credit policy.

What is not understood in the West, is that the Chinese economic model is identical, in its basic principles, to the American System, as developed by the first Secretary of the Treasury of the young American Republic, Alexander Hamilton, and his concept of the National Bank and sovereign credit creation. This concept was elaborated by the German economist Friedrich List, who is very famous in China; it was the framework of Lincoln’s economic advisor Henry C. Carey, and it influenced the economic policies of Roosevelt’s Reconstruction Finance Corporation, with which he led the U.S. out of the depression of the 1930s. The Reconstruction Finance Corporation was later the model for the Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau, with which Germany organized its post-war reconstruction and the German economic miracle.

So today, China is doing the same thing that was the basis of the economic success of the USA and Germany, before they turned away from this policy and replaced it with the neo-liberal model, whose “success” can be seen today in the  example of the world’s largest derivatives trader, the bankrupt Deutsche Bank.

Cai Yuanpei and Aesthetic Education

An extremely important aspect of the success of the BRI, which is insufficiently understood in the West, and, in my view, not sufficiently emphasized by China, is the basic cultural orientation of the 2,500-year-old Confucian tradition of Chinese society, which was only interrupted during the ten years of the Cultural Revolution. In China, thanks to this tradition, the common good plays a greater role than individualism, which has acquired a greater significance in the West since the Renaissance, but which, to some extent, has taken on a life of its own with today’s liberal change in values, and has degenerated into “everything is permitted.”

The Confucian tradition also implies that the development of the moral character is the highest goal of education, which is expressed in the term junzi, which roughly corresponds to Friedrich Schiller’s concept of the “beautiful soul.” It has therefore been taken for granted in China, for more than two thousand years, that respect for public morality and the fight against bad qualities in the population are the prerequisites for a highly developed society.

In the West today, with the abolition of the Humboldt educational ideal—the core of which had also been the development of the “beautiful character”—the idea of the necessity for moral improvement goes completely against the Zeitgeist, the spirit of the times. It is therefore only from the point of view of the liberal system, that someone could call China’s an “authoritarian system,” but by no means from the point of view of China’s own cultural history.

Italian economist Nino Galloni, Helga Zepp-LaRouche, Solidarité et progrès head Jacques Cheminade, and his wife, Odile Mojon.

Four participants of the 2019 Euro-Asia Economic Forum, Italian economist Nino Galloni, Helga Zepp-LaRouche, Solidarité et progrès head Jacques Cheminade, and his wife, Odile Mojon.

Anyone who wants to understand Xi Jinping’s intentions must consider his letter in reply to the request of eight professors of the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), about a year ago, in which he emphasized the extraordinary importance of aesthetic education for the spiritual development of China’s youth. Aesthetic education plays a decisive role in the development of a beautiful spirit; it fills the students with love, and promotes the creation of great works of art.

Confucius had already understood that the study of poetry and good music should have a decisive role in the aesthetic education of man, but a master key to the understanding of Xi Jinping’s vision, not only of the “Chinese Dream,” but of the harmonious development of the entire human community, is the scholar who created the modern Chinese educational system—the first Minister of Education of the Provisional Republic of China, Cai Yuanpei. During his travels in search of the best educational systems of his time, Cai finally, in Leipzig, came across the aesthetic writings of Baumgarten and Schiller, and, through the writings of the philosophical historian Wilhelm Windelband, became aware of Wilhelm von Humboldt’s educational concept. He was totally enthusiastic about the affinity of Schiller’s aesthetic education to Confucian morality, and recognized that Schiller influenced the spirit of German Classicism with “great clarity.”

Cai used these ideas to modernize the Chinese educational system, and created the new term meiju, for aesthetic education. This strengthened the idea, already found in Confucius, that the refinement of character can be achieved by immersion in great classical art, so that in this way, a bridge can be built between the sensual world and reason. In an essay of May 10, 1919, Cai formulated thoughts that could also build a bridge for today’s problems in the West:

“I believe that the root of our country’s problems lies in the short-sightedness of so many people who want quick success or quick money without any higher moral thinking. The only medicine is aesthetic education.”

Is the Good No Longer Conceivable?

Many people in the West today, find it hard to believe that China could be serious about its idea of win-win cooperation, because they have become too accustomed to the paradigm shift already described, with its axiom that all human interactions must be a zero-sum game. But we in the West should remember that the Peace of Westphalia of 1648, which ended 150 years of religious war, established the principle that a lasting order of peace must take into account the interests of others. It was the Peace of Westphalia which established international law and laid the foundations for the UN Charter.

It is the West, and not China, which has moved away from the principles laid down therein, such as absolute respect for the sovereignty of all states—adopting instead concepts such as the alleged R2P (right to protect), so-called “humanitarian” wars of intervention, and regime change through color revolutions, as we are currently witnessing in Hong Kong.

Xi Jinping’s vision of a “community of a shared future of humanity” corresponds to the Confucian notion of a harmonious development of all, a tradition to which Cai Yuanpei also contributed essential thoughts. He designed the dream of a “great community of the whole world” (datong shijie), which would be harmonious and without armies and wars, and which could be achieved through the dialogue of cultures, comparing the partaking of a culture by the culture of other peoples, with the breathing, eating and drinking of the human body, without which it can not live. Indeed, a look at history shows that any higher development of mankind has always taken place through involvement with other cultures.

It is significant that hardly any real analysts or politicians in the West have responded to Xi Jinping’s idea of a “community of destiny for the future of mankind” in any significant way. If it is mentioned at all, it is only in passing, as if it were not worth regard as anything other than communist propaganda, and as an announcement of China’s intention to play a leading role on the world stage in the future. But what Xi said at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2017, was that by 2050, at about the 100th anniversary of the founding of the PRC, the people of China should have democracy, human rights, a developed culture and a happy life. And, not only the Chinese, but all peoples on this planet.

This implicitly poses the question—and answers it positively—that should occupy all philosophers, scientists and statesmen and stateswomen, in view of the many chaotic developments on our planet: Can the human species give itself an order that guarantees its long-term survival, and is appropriate to the specific dignity of humanity as a creative species? Xi’s concept of the one community of a shared future, very clearly presents the thought that the idea of the one mankind be put first, and only then can national interests be defined in agreement with it.

West Must Return to Cusa, Leibniz, Schiller

In order to be able to keep up with the discussion on this level, of how to shape this new order of “reformed international governance,” we in the West must  return to the very humanist traditions that we have pushed aside with the liberal system. Corresponding ideas can be found in Nicholas of Cusa, who considered a concordance of macrocosms possible only through a harmonious development of all microcosms. Or in Gottfried Leibniz’ idea of a pre-stabilized harmony of the universe, in which a higher order is possible, because with higher development, the degrees of freedom increase and therefore we live in the best of all possible worlds. Or in Friedrich Schiller’s idea that there need be no contradiction between the citizen of the world and the patriot, because both are oriented towards the common good of the future of mankind.

In conclusion: China must help the West to understand the concept of the New Silk Road. China must not react defensively to the anti-Chinese attacks, but should instead emphasize the brilliant periods of its own history all the more proudly and self-confidently: the depth of Confucian moral theory, which inspired Benjamin Franklin to his own moral philosophy; the profundity of Chinese poetry; the beauty of Literati Painting. And China should challenge the West to revive its own humanistic traditions, of the Renaissance, of Dante, Petrarch and Brunelleschi; of classical music in the culture of Bach, Beethoven and Schiller; and of republican traditions in politics. Only when the West experiences a great “rejuvenation,” reviving the ideas of Alexander Hamilton, Friedrich List and Henry C. Carey, can the problem be solved.

Leibniz was very enthusiastic about China, and he tried to learn as much as possible about it from the Jesuit missionaries. He was fascinated that the Kangxi Emperor had come to the same mathematical conclusions as he had, and concluded that there are universal principles accessible to all people and cultures. He even thought the Chinese were morally superior. He wrote: “In light of the growing moral decay, it seems to be almost necessary that Chinese missionaries be sent to us, who could teach us the application and practice of a natural theology. I therefore believe: that if a wise man were chosen, to judge not the beauty of goddesses, but the excellence of peoples, he would give the golden apple to the Chinese.”

The German middle class and the German small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and cities such as Genoa, Vienna, Zurich, Lyon, Duisburg and Hamburg, and many more, have long since come to realize the potential that lies not only in the expansion of bilateral relations, but above all in the expansion of  cooperation in third countries, such as the industrialization of Africa and Southwest Asia.

The enthusiasm that is evident in international cooperation in space travel—the ESA cooperation in the projects of the Chinese Space Agency, the idea of international cooperation on the future Chinese space station, the construction of an international moon village and the terraforming on Mars—underlines that Xi Jinping’s vision of the community of a shared destiny for the future of mankind is within reach.


Zepp-LaRouche in China: “The Highest Ideal of Mankind is the Potential of the Future”

Schiller Institute founder Helga Zepp-LaRouche has just returned from a 10-day visit to China, including public presentations and private meetings, which she stated went exceptionally well.

The trip began with her participation in the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations, held May 15-16 in Beijing, where President Xi Jinping delivered the keynote. Zepp-LaRouche presented a paper and a 10-minute speech, with the title “The Highest Ideal of Mankind Is the Potential of the Future,” which has already been published as part of the Conference proceedings. We feature it immediately below.

She also had daily, high-level meetings with representatives of many top institutions that she has been in touch with since the 1990s. She reported that these occurred at a moment of very grave tensions between China and the U.S.—because of the collapse of the trade talks, the Huawei affair, and other issues—which made her presence all the more important. Many people look to the LaRouche movement for solutions to these problems, she reported.

Zepp-LaRouche also delivered a speech at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies of Renmin University in Beijing, and granted a number of press and TV interviews.

In addition to Beijing, Zepp-LaRouche visited Nanjing where she met with the publisher of the Chinese-language edition of the first volume of “The New Silk Road Becomes the World Land-Bridge” special report, where she learned that the publisher had just published a second printing of that report, because they consider it one of the most important books of their publishing house. They also will be publishing a translation of the new report, “The New Silk Road Becomes the World Land-Bridge, Vol. II.”

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The Highest Ideal of Mankind is the Potential of the Future

By Helga Zepp-LaRouche

It is the characteristic of turning points in history that the majority of people have no concept of what is occurring. Only those visionaries who have a clear idea of the positive potential of the future are able to intervene in the process at moments of decision, to avert potential catastrophes, and instead usher in a new epoch of humanity. We find ourselves in such a phase change: the old world order, as it developed after World War II and especially after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, is in a process of dissolution, but what the new order will look like is by no means decided yet. We are in a period when even international law seems to be overridden, as at the moment neither the UN nor any other institution seems to be able to enforce it.

But it is undeniable that the pendulum that favored Western civilization over recent centuries—though for thousands of years Asia had occupied an outstanding and even leading place in universal history—has long been swinging back. This is clearly supported by the demographic development of Asia, completely new strategic interventions such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and clear objectives, such as the concept “Made in China 2025” or the outlook that President Xi Jinping has set for China by 2050.

Tremendous opportunities for Asia arise from this, and perhaps along with them a completely new form of responsibility, which should ignite the inspiration to work out concepts about how to advance humanity as a whole. President Xi Jinping obviously has this very approach in mind when he speaks of the “Community of a Shared Future of Mankind.” We are now experiencing a precious moment, for never before in history has the conscious design of a new epoch, with the idea of a unified humanity as a higher idea, been so clearly defined as a task. If we want to create a more human order, it must be built on the best concepts that have been produced by various cultures. Those concepts must, so to speak, have an ontological character, because nothing in them can be accidental or of merely contemporary character, if they are to determine the Dharma—the moral codex—which the spiritual leaders, and with them Asian societies, are to follow in this new chapter of universal history.

It is also obvious that the impetus for defining this “righteous way” must come from the ancient traditions of Asia, such as Confucianism, Buddhism or Jainism, which are clearly linked to a commitment to lifelong self-cultivation and moral refinement of mankind. Though the West had the same claim in its Classical and Renaissance periods of humanism, the idea of the ethical improvement of man as a purpose in life is almost the opposite of the Western liberal model, where any priority of moral requirements or the superiority of one philosophy over another are emphatically rejected.

How then must the principles be designed, so that the new paradigm of a coming Community of Mankind is on such secure foundations that the requirements of modern natural science as well as those of a new system of international relations can be satisfied?

This question must be answered on different levels. A good starting point is The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, or Panchsheel, as laid down for the first time in a formal way in the Trade and Transport Agreement between the Tibetan Region of China and India on April 29, 1954. The preamble states that the two governments have agreed on the following principles: 1. Mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, 2. Mutual non-aggression, 3. Mutual non-interference, 4. Equality and mutual benefit, and 5. Peaceful co-existence.

The first conference of independent Asian and African states in Bandung in 1955, led by Chinese Prime Minister Zhou Enlai and Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, expanded the Five Principles into the Ten Principles of Bandung. The same principles were underlined as a core element of international law at the 1961 Non-Aligned Conference in Belgrade. With the BRI, China has defined for the first time the concept of this relationship between nations as the basis of a global reorganization which is open to all nations. President Xi emphasized in his keynote speech at the first Belt and Road Forum in May 2017,

“We are ready to share the experience of development with other countries. We have no intention to interfere in other countries’ internal affairs, export our own social system or model of development, or impose our will on others.”

These principles of peaceful coexistence have deep roots in several Asian cultures. Some of these concepts are philosophical in nature, others are part of theological considerations. This article is about the identification of the approaches that have advanced humanity and are relevant to the future understanding among peoples. This is also the approach adopted by President Xi on his overseas visits, as he emphasized in a speech in New Delhi to the Indian elite in 2014:

“Even in ancient times, people in China came to the realization that a belligerent state, great as it may be, ultimately fails. Peace is paramount. Harmony without uniformity, and universal peace must be achieved. The Chinese concepts of ‘universal peace’ and ‘universal love’ are very similar to the Indian concepts of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakum’ (the world as a family) and ‘ahimsa’ (do not inflict injury).”

Thus, in the ancient scriptures of India, the Vedic texts, the Upanishads, and the classical Sanskrit literature, there are many important concepts that have both a religious and a practical political significance. This includes, for example, the principle of ahimsa mentioned by Xi, the respect for all other creatures—not only the renunciation of any physical violence, but also of hurting the other in any way, either verbally or spiritually. Ahimsa is also a method of war prevention and conflict resolution, even for complex challenges in the real world.

The collections of the Rigveda are the oldest surviving complete literary work, and have been handed down orally for centuries with the help of sophisticated mnemonics. In the Rigveda there are fundamental thoughts on the cosmic order, which ultimately also provide the guideline for human action on earth.

In the Upanishads there are five principles that reflect the same basic orientation. The most basic concept is that of the all-embracing Brahman. “Ishawaram idam sarvam jagat kincha jagatvam jagat”—Everything that exists, wherever it exists, is permeated by the same divine power. This idea is found in a similar form in Gottfried Leibniz’s idea of the Monad, where within every Monad the entire lawfulness of the universe is contained.

The second principle is that the Brahman, the creative principle whose expression is the entire realized world, is in every individual consciousness, the Atman. Atman is the reflection of this all-embracing Brahman. It is the individual consciousness, but it is not fundamentally separate from Brahman. “Ishwara sarvabhutanam idise tishtati”—the Lord dwells in the heart of every individual. The relationship between Atman and Brahman is the core around which the whole Vedic doctrine revolves. In the philosophy of Nicholas of Cusa, this corresponds to the affinity of the macrocosm and the microcosm, which makes it possible for an intangible force—an idea created by creative reason—to bring about a further development of the physical universe.

A third Vedic principles is that because of their common spirituality all people are members of a single family. The Upanishads speak of humanity as amritashya putra, “Children of Immortality.”

The fourth concept the Upanishads present is the idea of the consubstantiality of all religions, all spiritual paths. “Ekoham svat virpra bahuda vadanti”—“The truth is one, the sage calls it by many names.” This idea corresponds to the “Sanatana Dharma,” the single religion which stands above all religions, an idea also expressed by Nicholas of Cusa in his Platonic dialogue “De Pace Fidei,” which he wrote immediately following the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and the associated bloody conflicts. In this dialogue, representatives of various religions and nations turn to God for help, because all of them are fighting wars against and killing each other in His name. God instructs them that they are all also philosophers in their respective nations and religions—beyond all religious traditions and teachings of the different prophets—and therefore can understand that above religion there is one God, and above different traditions, one truth. Incidentally, the Hindu Monk Swami Vivekenada cited the same argument in his famous speech before the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago on September 11, 1893: The followers of different religions have argued and fought each other purely because their point of view is too narrow, and they don’t grasp that the highest Being is infinite.

A fifth Vedic concept is that of the welfare of all creatures. “Bahujana shukhaya bahujana hitaya cha”—the Hindu philosophy seeks “the good of all people and all forms of life on this planet.” The affinity to the Confucian ideas of harmonious development of all is evident, as Confucius says explicitly: “They who have success should help others to succeed.” Naturally, this is the idea at the basis of the BRI and the conception of “win-win cooperation” between various nations. The Confucian philosophy also gives a name to the new era which was to begin with the prospective Japanese Emperor Naruhito: “Reiwa,” which literally means “pursuing harmony.” Japanese commentators emphasize that this term reaches back to the famous classical poetry anthology, “The Poem of Manyoshu,” though as the scholar Wang Peng points out, the term ling-he was used by the ancient Chinese emperors as the name for their reign, just as in present day China there are best wishes for peace and harmony.

The idea of a harmonious development of all as the basis for a world peace order is thus laid out in several Asian cultures, and stands in direct contradiction to the idea that relationships among nations constitute a zero-sum game. However, its realization in practice obviously requires a new stage of development in the evolution of mankind, the Age of the Spiritual Man, as Sri Aurobindo has expressed it; or the increasing dominance of the Noösphere over the Biosphere, in which Vladimir Vernadsky saw a trajectory laid out by the natural law of the universe.

The universe has an inherent lawfulness which advances it to higher stages of development. Vernadsky saw the creative reason of mankind as an essential component of that universe, as a geological power, which has been qualitatively advancing this higher development since the existence of human evolution. In the science of physical economy, Lyndon LaRouche delivered the proof of the absolute efficiency of human creativity, which distinguishes man from all known living creatures, with his concept of Potential Relative Population Density.

Yet this anti-entropic higher development is neither linear, nor the automatic result of objective processes—as in the variations found in historical or dialectical materialism, for instance—as, along with the objective effect of newly discovered physical principles in production processes, now a substantial component of this process has become the subjective intellectual and moral higher development of man.

In meeting the task of consciously shaping a new paradigm for humanity stated at the beginning of this article, it is certainly an enormous advantage for Chinese and other Asian cultures that, thanks to the philosophy of Confucius, the development of a moral character has been the most important goal of education in broad areas of Asia. Despite the considerable hype about the digitalization of the economy and the roll of artificial intelligence in future economic platforms, it will always be a question of the moral qualities of human beings which will determine whether the new technologies are deployed for the benefit of mankind, or for evil purposes. Thus, of first-rank strategic importance is the letter written several months ago by Xi Jinping to eight professors of the Chinese Academy of Fine Arts, where he emphasized the extraordinary importance of aesthetic education for the mental development of the youth of China. Aesthetic education plays a definitive role in the development of a beautiful soul, filling the students with love and promoting the creation of great works of art.

Thanks to the continual influence of Confucianism—only broken by the ten years of the Cultural Revolution—there is a continuing tradition going back thousands of years in which the development of a moral character represents the highest goal of education. It is thus taken for granted in China that attention to public morals and combating bad characteristics in the population constitute the precondition for a highly developed society. For example, the Court Report on Educational Goals of the Academic Ministry of the Qing government in 1906 required, above all course content, the teaching of public morals (gongde) and Confucian teachings on virtue, in order that “each has concern for others as he does for himself, and loves the state as one loves his own family.”

A key to understanding the special significance of aesthetic education in China today, however, lies not only in the teachings of Confucius—who assigned a crucial role in the development of a moral character to the occupation with poetry and good music—but in the scholar who has influenced China’s modern education system more than anyone else: the first Minister of Education of the Provisional Republic of China, Cai Yuanpei. Cai acquired the academic title of xiucai at the age of 15, due to his extraordinary intelligence and diligence, the highest title jingshi at age 24, becoming a bianxiu in 1894—and at the age of 26 had reached the highest level of academic career in the Qing dynasty. He had excellent knowledge of the classical script and was famous for his beautiful classical style.

During this time, Cai, along with the entire Chinese elite, was shocked that China was defeated in the war against Japan, and had generally lost out in every invasion since the Opium Wars, paying high reparations and ceding rights to the invaders. Among intellectuals, it was discussed how Japan—which for centuries was considered backward—had become so strong through the Meiji Restoration, and they sought to learn the lesson of this transformation.

The corruption of the Qing dynasty was also blamed for these disgraceful defeats. Cai was convinced that the state would only survive if there was a change in the consciousness of the people, and that this improvement could only be achieved by improving the content of education. Cai first began to investigate the Japanese and then the European educational systems. Finally, he traveled to France and Germany, where he studied civilizational and cultural history of the West in Leipzig from 1907 to 1911, before he was appointed as Minister of Education by Sun Yat-sen in 1912.

Cai undertook in-depth studies of the aesthetic writings of Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten, Immanuel Kant and Friedrich Schiller, as well as the concept of education of Wilhelm von Humboldt. Inspired by the excellent studies on the history of philosophy of Wilhelm Windelband, and by direct study of Kant, Schiller and von Humboldt, he realized very quickly that Schiller’s conception of aesthetic education was not only in complete affinity with Confucian morality—Schiller’s concept of “the beautiful soul” completely corresponded with the Confucian idea of the junzi—but Schiller spoke about these questions with greater clarity and from a higher point of view than any earlier or contemporary philosophers. “The comprehensive theory of Friedrich Schiller and the idea of aesthetic education brought great clarity to everyone,” writes Cai. “Since that time, the European idea of aesthetic education can supply us with a great deal from which we can draw for developing our own understanding of the subject.” Cai Jianguo further quotes Cai Yuanpei: “In Germany, aesthetic education impressed me greatly. I want to use all my powers to promote them.” Cai created the Chinese term meiju, which had not previously existed in that language.

Schiller wrote the “Aesthetic Letters” in response to the failure of the French Revolution, and argued that from then on, any improvement in the political realm can only come from the ennoblement of the individual. Only if man rises above the transient happiness of the world of the senses, and engages his efforts not only for himself, but the community; not only for the present, but the future; not for physical pleasure, but spiritual creativity; only then could the state prosper. In the “Letters” and in further pioneering writings on aesthetics, Schiller developed why this ennoblement of character can be achieved by immersion in great classical art.

Cai Yuanpei recognized the striking coincidence between the teachings of Confucius and the aesthetics of Schiller. The immersion in poetry, music, and painting during one’s leisure hours awakens in the beholder an aesthetic pleasure in which lies neither a desire for nor a rejection of the sensible world. Rather, the taste is formed and the emotions are ennobled. Aesthetic sensibility embraces beauty and sublimity, thus forming a bridge between the sensual world and reason. Every human being has a mind, but not everyone is capable of producing great and noble deeds. Therefore this mind must become stronger as a driving force, by ennobling it.

In 1912, Cai wrote the “Theses on New Education” and the “Textbook on Moral and Personal Development for the Secondary School,” in which he characterized human conscience as the essential guide to behavior. In an essay of May 10, 1919, he wrote: “I believe that the root of our country’s problems is in the shortsightedness of so many people who want quick success or quick money without any higher moral thinking. The only medicine is aesthetic education.”

Of course, it should not go unmentioned that Cai, as president of the University of Beijing, led this institution to internationally recognized scientific renown, taking up many suggestions from Wilhelm von Humboldt, who established the unity of research and teaching, and the beauty of character as an educational goal at the University of Berlin. Because of Cai’s prestige, the University in Beijing soon became a magnet for many young Chinese scholars returning from overseas, just as he became the inspiration for many other art colleges and academies.

In my view, Cai Yuanpei’s conception of the state as a larger family in which the interests of the state must take precedence over the interests of individual families, is also of paramount importance for understanding the policies of President Xi Jinping and his idea of the “Community for the Future of Mankind,” because for him the prosperity of the state was the prerequisite for the happiness of the citizens. However, the interests of the world as the home of all living beings was also set before the interests of the individual state. Cai wrote: “Until the ‘great community’ of the world is realized, the interests of society cannot be identical with those of the world.” He also emphasized that in fulfilling the duty to the state, one must be careful not to contradict the duty of the world. He dreamed of a “great community” of the entire world, (datong shijie), which would be peaceful and harmonious, without class distinctions and state boundaries, without armies and war. All humans would understand each other in this world community and help one another. Cai saw the “Dialogue of Cultures” as the pathway to this goal: “I have often thought that a nation must necessarily absorb the culture of other peoples. This is like the body of a human being who cannot grow without breathing the air of the outside world, without eating and drinking.” Yes, he saw in this meeting of cultures the absolute prerequisite of higher development: “If one takes a look at the development of the world history, one sees that the confrontation of different cultures always leads to the emergence of a new one.”

The realization of this vision is absolutely identifiable through the dynamism and the “Spirit of the New Silk Road.” The principles that must determine the “righteous path” for the new paradigm are not static axioms, but consist of the prospects arising from the aesthetic education of, eventually, all human beings. In a world where economics is not based on the principles of profit maximization and the greatest possible satisfaction of individual greed, but on the best possible promotion of human creativity as the motor of an anti-entropic developing universe; if, so to speak, the “cosmic order” inspires political, economic and cultural life, then the dreams of Confucius, Schiller, Cai Yuanpei, Xi Jinping and Lyndon LaRouche are the political legislators of humanity. As Tagore expressed it in his famous dialogue with Einstein: “When our universe is in harmony with people, we feel the eternal that we know as truth, as beauty.”


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