Chapter 9 7. From Europe to America

China is already the world's second largest economy today.If there are no major accidents, China's economic aggregate is expected to surpass that of the United States in about 10 years.The United States is very worried about losing its position as the world's largest economy, so it is busy building defenses against China in order to delay or even reverse this process.Because of this, China may encounter various obstacles set up by the United States in the process of becoming the number one in the world.Therefore, it is necessary for us to study and understand the United States more.Only in this way can we better "know ourselves and the enemy", deal with the United States better, and strive to surpass the United States in more and more aspects.Here I make some comparisons between the United States and Europe to help readers better understand the United States as a country, and by the way, understand more about the West as a whole.

When Chinese meet Europeans for the first time, they cannot tell which country they are from. Similarly, when Europeans meet Asians for the first time, they cannot tell Chinese, Japanese or Koreans.But with more contact with Europeans, you will gradually see some differences.There is a popular joke in Europe: Someone asks, "What is a heavenly life in Europe?" The answer is: "Let the French be your cooks, the Germans your engineers, the British your policemen, and the Italians be your policemen." Be your lover, and the Swiss organize it all." The reverse way of life is hellish, that is, "The English are your cooks, the French are your engineers, the Germans are your policemen." , the Swiss are your lovers, and all this is organized by the Italians".This kind of exaggerated ridicule more or less reflects the differences in European national culture.

If the cultural differences between European countries are not small, then from Europe to the United States, you will feel even greater differences.When you parachute from Europe to the United States, the cultural differences between Europe and the United States immediately hit your face.I have traveled from Europe to the United States about a dozen times, and I can feel the difference in many details.For example, if you fly from Geneva International Airport to JFK International Airport in New York, you want to find a trolley to carry your luggage, and suddenly you find that you have to pay for the trolley here, and there is no more, no less, 3 dollars, which is quite embarrassing, you Oftentimes there happens to be no change for the $3 and you have to go and change it.There are also many airports in Europe that require coins to pick up the luggage cart, but this is to allow you to return the car to the designated place after use, and you can get the coins back after returning the car, so the luggage cart is still free.

When you get on an American taxi, the "Customer Rights Charter" is posted on the back of the driver's seat.In China, the "Passenger Notice" is posted on this place, but in Europe, these things are rarely posted. Similar regulations are customary and self-evident.The taxis were soon onto the six-lane highway, and the cars on the road were generally larger than those in Europe.It can be seen that compared with Europe, the United States still takes pride in driving big cars. This is obviously a society that wastes more energy than Europe. When you arrive at the hotel, you turn on the TV, and you are greeted with overwhelming advertisements.Feature films are interrupted every quarter of an hour, and most of the advertisements involve making money: 1 million, 2 million, 3 million.On mainstream European TV stations, the commercials are generally placed before and after the feature film, with at most one or two interruptions in the middle, and the commercials are shot with more taste, and generally no money is shown.There are still many differences between Europe and the United States. For example, European coffee is served in small cups, which belongs to the exquisite culture of taste; American coffee is served in large cups, which belongs to the mass consumption culture.In terms of family values, European societies are more traditional, and many children still live at home after graduating from university.In the United States (and the UK is similar), when children reach the age of 18, or even earlier, they go out and struggle on their own.Americans generally do not believe in the government, and always feel that individuals can do better than the government, while in European countries, especially France, Germany, Spain and other countries, the role of the government is much greater.This difference is related to the history of the United States. The Puritans fled to the American continent in order to escape the persecution of the government and the church.

From a broad perspective, European and American cultures, especially political cultures, have five major differences: first, religious differences.The influence of religion in Europe is generally weakening, while the opposite is true in the United States. Especially after "9.11", the influence of religion in the United States has rapidly strengthened.On Sundays, American churches were overcrowded, and President Bush himself prayed every day. He used significantly more religious words in his speech than European leaders.It is said that after the Hainan plane collision incident in 2000, Bush immediately asked the people around him: "Can the American aircrew see the Bible now?" Churches in Europe are not overcrowded.Many people in Europe call themselves unchurched Christians.People feel that religion is increasingly becoming a kind of culture, which is a bit close to the traditional Chinese attitude towards religion. The main role of religion is no longer a strict doctrine, but a cultural norm.This difference is also reflected in the foreign policies of Europe and the United States.In the foreign policy of the United States, although the church and the state are separated in name, its foreign policy is most influenced by religious forces in Western countries.The United States already has a strong "missionary tradition" and believes that the United States is God's "specially chosen country". Even the issue of democracy has been religiousized, and the "gospel" of American democracy has been spread all over the world.The so-called "value diplomacy" that the United States is now pursuing also illustrates this point.Frankly speaking, as long as there is no major change in this "religious" mentality in the United States, it will be difficult for the United States to accept the rise of a non-Christian and non-Western cultural "communist country" like China.From this perspective, true harmony in Sino-US relations is not easy to achieve, and by extension, true harmony in the entire world is also difficult to achieve.I once discussed this issue with the honorary president of the Asia Society of the United States, Mr. Breeder. He was more optimistic than me. He believed that most Americans are still moderate and secular, and religious forces will not affect the foreign policy of the United States too much.I also hope so, and we all agree on this point: the various interests of China and the United States have linked our two countries together, and the two sides can seek win-win cooperation and handle all issues in bilateral relations rationally and properly.

The second difference between Europe and the United States is that the nationalist sentiment in the United States is much higher than that in European countries.My German friend told me that the 2006 FIFA World Cup was held in Germany. For the first time in their lives, many Germans saw so many German flags, and they felt very uncomfortable.Due to the catastrophe of the two world wars, "nationalism" has almost become a derogatory term in Europe, and ordinary citizens rarely talk about patriotism.The Dutch often say: We are the least nationalistic.A French friend of mine told me that he still has a little patriotism only when he buys a car, but not the rest of the time.My Danish student told me that he had served as a soldier in Denmark: "Our army has never taken an oath, and there is no patriotic education. In the future, we can only help other countries to do things like peacekeeping." NATO has increased its troops before Afghanistan has caused a lot of controversy, which also reflects this difference in perception.

The United States is different. During the period after "9.11", when your car was not flying the American flag, people would knock on your car windows and tell you to hang the American flag quickly.Every year on July 4th, the National Day of the United States is even more lively. Almost all Americans will go to the park, drink and chat, wave the national flag, listen to patriotic music, and sing patriotic songs.The United States is usually a very individualistic country, where everyone takes care of themselves, but on National Day, it seems to be particularly collectivist and patriotic. By gathering together like this, everyone shows their patriotic spirit as an American.

The United States, which has a strong nationalist sentiment, has a much higher tendency to war than Europe.If counting from the Korean War in 1950, the United States launched the invasion of Cuba in 1961, the Vietnam War in 1968, the invasion of Grenada in 1986, the invasion of Panama in 1989, the invasion of Haiti in 1994, and the 1999 war. The invasion of Yugoslavia in 2001, the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the military intervention in Libya in 2011.In contrast, people in continental Europe are still dominated by pacifist trends, and they believe more in the role of diplomacy and multilateralism. This is of course related to the fact that Europe’s military strength is far weaker than that of the United States, but the deeper reason is due to historical Upper Europe has experienced countless wars, especially the catastrophe of the two world wars, and most Europeans are tired of wars.Every year France solemnly commemorates the First World War, in which more than 1.3 million people died in France (the population of France at that time was only about 30 million).In contrast, the combined death toll from all wars since 1776 in the United States is less than half that, and the population of the United States is five times that of France.Of course, the situation has changed in the past two years. As European countries have fallen into financial and economic crises one after another, the influence of the right-wing forces in Europe has increased significantly. Many politicians are trying to divert people’s attention from their own problems by launching wars that are controllable in scale and sure to win. , European countries have recently participated in the military intervention in Libya, and are keen to support the intervention in the civil unrest in Syria.

There are also considerable differences in military budgets between Europe and the United States.The annual military expenditure of the United States now exceeds the sum of the 20 countries with the largest military expenditures in the world. The U.S. defense budget in 2012 was nearly $700 billion.What is reflected behind it is actually the vested interests of the US arms industry.Such a huge military industry needs to survive and develop, and it needs excess profits. Everyone spends a lot of money in Washington, lobbying, and finding various excuses to persuade the government to maintain a strong national defense force and ensure that the US hegemony will not decline.Voltaire used to say that if there is no God, one must be created.With such a huge military industry, the United States always needs an enemy.If there is no enemy, create an enemy.If the aforementioned religious reasons in the United States make it easy for the United States to regard China, which does not believe in God, as an enemy, then the US arms industry has such a need to demonize China, and then it can continue to promote the profitable arms industry.This is probably one of the underlying reasons why the "China threat theory" in the American media is always lingering.

A third difference is reflected in the culture of competition, especially in social policy.Generally speaking, Europe has more social benefits and a slower pace of life.For a long time, the governments of major European countries have adjusted different social interests through taxation, and the protection of the interests of vulnerable groups is relatively good.But most countries have also begun to feel that this system is uncompetitive and easy to raise lazy people, and Europe has also begun to reform this system.For example, most young people in France like to work in the government system because the job is comfortable and life is guaranteed.Former French Prime Minister Fabius once told me a joke: French teachers like to say that their job has three advantages, the first advantage is July, the second advantage is August, and the third advantage is September (Referring to the three months paid summer vacation for teachers in France).Denmark has carried out many reforms. For example, in the past, if a person was unemployed, he could get unemployment benefits. Now, part of the unemployment benefits are converted into the cost of learning new skills. If the unemployed want to get this part of the money, they need to learn Some new skills.

In contrast, American society is very competitive and social mobility is greater than in Europe. An American has to move house 14 times on average in his lifetime, which is unimaginable in Europe.Most people in Europe can still guarantee at least one meal a day with their families, which has become a great luxury in the United States. There are not a few Americans who mainly eat fast food outside all year round.An Italian friend of mine, who is an active advocate of the Slow Eating Movement, once explained the meaning of the Slow Eating Movement to me: "Eating is a kind of culture, which requires constant aftertaste and experience in order to enjoy it, so fast food can only be enjoyed. It’s rubbish.” But a friend of mine who came to Geneva from the United States on a business trip was puzzled by the leisurely lifestyle in Europe: “How can such a society be competitive?” In fact, Europe’s competitiveness is not too high. Low, there are even statistics showing that the average hourly productivity of the French is higher than that of the United States. A fourth difference is cultural differences in self-identity.Americans think of themselves as Americans, while most people in Europe first identify themselves as people from a certain country, and then they identify themselves as Europeans, and the latter is more in a cultural sense.When a European comes to the United States or China, he suddenly feels that he is a European, not an American or a Chinese, but politically, they identify with their own country more than the European Union, because the European Union is not yet a country. Although the United States is a country of immigrants, people's self-identity with the United States is far stronger than that of Europe.Historically, the formation of the United States began with the union of 13 states. At the beginning, even the Constitution could not be agreed, and only one "Article of Confederation" could be passed. Then people felt the need for a unified currency, unified diplomacy and military. Finally made it to the United States of America.Europe is far from reaching this point, so Europe has not become a "country". Although the EU has many rights, it still has a long way to go to exert its influence in the international community as a whole.Of course, there are also differences within the United States. Some people call this difference the confrontation between "America" ​​and "United States."The right emphasizes "America" ​​and the left emphasizes "the United States".After Bush Jr. was re-elected in 2004, some people who didn't like Bush Jr. even said that the United States should be divided into two, so that those states that don't like Bush Jr. can form a separate country, but this is just a joke. In fact, the internal cohesion of the United States Extremely strong, especially in times of crisis. There are some scholars in the United States who are good at strategic thinking and often plan ahead. For example, Professor Huntington of Harvard University once wrote a book called "Who We Are".He worries that due to the rapid growth of the Hispanic population, Hispanic Americans will become the majority of the US population in a few decades, surpassing European whites, which will bring about a series of changes and challenge some basic beliefs in the United States.He even worried that if the multiculturalism in the United States continues to develop like this, American society may eventually fall apart, and English may lose its status as an official language. Once at an academic conference, I chatted with American scholar Professor Gray Weaver about his views on this issue. He believed that "Huntington's book is a book that will lead to the Crusades."He said: "Huntington, like Osama bin Laden, both hate the integration of different nationalities." "For Huntington, there is no problem with 1 million Swedes, but absolutely no problem with 1 million Mexicans." According to the research of Professor Gray Viva, whether it is Hispanic or Asian, the mother tongue of the second generation is English. Two-thirds of them marry people of other ethnicities.He also said that the average income of the Muslim population in the United States is higher than that of whites. I also have reservations about many of Huntington's views, especially the theory of the clash of civilizations, but I agree with Huntington on one point: with globalization, people are becoming more and more aware of the differences between themselves and others.The point is to prevent someone from exploiting this difference to create fear and hatred.In an increasingly diverse world, China's philosophy of "harmony in diversity" is more advantageous.Huntington's theory of the clash of civilizations does not help to solve these problems.Of course, despite the differences, the overall integration capacity of American society is far higher than that of Europe.Far-sighted politicians and scholars in Europe have repeatedly emphasized the importance of European unity and improving European integration capabilities, because they know very well that with the rise of China, Russia and India, if Europe still cannot speak with one voice, Europe will have an important role in the world. The right to speak will further decline. The fifth difference between Europe and the United States is the difference in environmental protection culture.In general, Europeans are generally more aware of environmental protection than Americans, and European governments are also more aware of environmental protection than the US government.Former French President Jacques Chirac said in front of the U.S. representative at a United Nations climate conference that the per capita energy consumption of a French person is twice as low as that of an American.Many polls in Europe show that the issue that European citizens are most concerned about is environmental protection, so they are disgusted with the Bush administration's withdrawal from the "Kyoto Protocol". This has also become an important reason for Europe's grudge against the Bush administration.Most people in Europe drive small cars that are more fuel-efficient, while most people in the United States drive large cars that consume fuel.Related to this is that almost all European countries regard environmental diplomacy as an important part of their diplomacy, and have taken the lead in proposing many initiatives in the field of environmental protection.In contrast, such soft things as environmental diplomacy have never been the main concern of American diplomacy. There are quite a few people in China who admire the United States. In fact, the price of the American liberal model is very high.The American "Newsweek" magazine (May 14, 2007) provided some shocking data: 2 million teenagers in the United States attempt suicide every year, and the number of teenage pregnancies in the United States is five times that of France and Italy.Only a quarter of middle school students in the United States pass math.Every year, 5.5 million adolescents in the United States need counseling.80% of teenagers in the United States have participated in gambling.The crime rate and the number of prisoners in the United States, both in terms of per capita ratio and in terms of absolute numbers, are far higher than those in Europe and much higher than in China.In addition, the population of the United States is only a little over 300 million, but nearly 50 million people do not have health insurance. I had the opportunity to get in close contact with some American politicians, including the three former presidents of the United States: Reagan, Bush Sr. and Carter.Of the three, Carter was the most candid about America's own problems. In March 2002, Carter went to Mexico to attend a United Nations conference on development issues.After the meeting, he met with representatives of civil society and the media, and actively talked about the existence of two worlds in the United States: one is the developed first world, and the other is the underdeveloped third world.I asked him a question at that time: "With the wealth of the United States, why can't the poverty problem in the United States be solved?" He looked at me, then nodded and said, "You have raised this question well. People ask themselves this question, and maybe we can solve this problem.” When I was doing my Ph.D., I took the subway to the East Asian Library of Columbia University in New York to look up materials, but I accidentally took the wrong train. Columbia University is located in the northwest of Manhattan. I took the subway going north to the northeast of Manhattan. That is, the famous Harlem district where black people live.As soon as you get out of the subway, it feels like Nairobi. The houses are in disrepair, the streets are dirty, people with nothing to do are everywhere, many eyes are staring at you, and it is dusk. One of the worst places.I hailed a taxi and left right away.Later, it was said that under the leadership of the powerful mayor Giuliani, the situation in this area has improved greatly, but in general, the central urban areas of many large cities in the United States have become places where the poor live together and crime is rampant.This situation has not changed. Taking the train in New York is also very interesting. Starting from the Grand Central in the center of Manhattan, there are passengers of all skin colors at the beginning. As the train gradually travels, black people get off first, then brown Latin people go down, and finally full The rest of the car is white, with some Asians in between.This is roughly a reflection of the income situation in the United States. The lower the income, the closer they live to the city, and the farther away the rich live.However, there are still many "noble" locations in Manhattan, such as Park Avenue and the Upper East Side, which are the first choice for wealthy Americans to live. The polarization between rich and poor in the United States is also reflected in the quality of citizens.The "9.11" World Trade Center was hit by a plane, and flames were surging, but the people upstairs walked down the safety ladder, not particularly panicked, but quite orderly, and people gave way to firefighters, women, children, etc. , reflecting the cultural level and self-cultivation of the American middle class.Of course, these people may not have known at the time that the entire building would collapse in an instant. If they knew, whether they could still be so calm, I don't know. But in August 2005, a "Katrina" super hurricane hit, exposing another side of the United States, the "Third World" side. Hurricane "Katrina" swept New Orleans in the southern United States, and the whole city suddenly fell into chaos. One-third of the city's 1.5 million residents were poor. Cases of robbery, rape, and shootings emerged one after another. The police’s psychological precautions against black people seemed to overwhelm their concern for public security and rescue. In the end, more than 2,000 people died. Even more than ten days after the disaster, many floating corpses and garbage had not been cleaned up.In contrast, China's performance in earthquake relief in 2008 was many times better. In fact, both Europe and the United States have their own strengths and weaknesses, but one of their common problems is that there have been basically no major changes in the past 20 years or so.It may be self-satisfied if it thinks it is a developed country.In contrast, China has been constantly reforming and progressing, and the entire country has undergone earth-shaking changes as a result.This change has brought considerable shock to the West.Thomas Friedman, a columnist for the New York Times, lamented after visiting Shanghai, Beijing, and Dalian in 2008: In comparison, New York is already more like the third world.Today, some people in the country are still belittling their own country every day, talking about what the United States is like. For those who really understand the United States, it is indeed a bit ridiculous. Some media once asked me, why do so many people immigrate when you say that China is better than Europe and the United States.I said, I did not say that Europe and the United States are better than China, nor did I say that China is better than Europe and the United States, because such a comparison is too general and too simple.If you value per capita GDP calculated at official exchange rates, Equatorial Guinea in Africa is better than China, but most residents in its capital don't even have running water.If you, like most Chinese, think that happiness can only be achieved by owning real estate, then China is much better than Switzerland. The home ownership rate in Switzerland is 36%, only half of that in China.If you like places with good social security, then China must be better than the United States.If you like western food then France is better.From the perspective of enjoying life, a Chinese with a certain amount of wealth should live more comfortably and comfortably in Shanghai or Hainan than in New York or London.For a young man who is still struggling, China can provide far more development opportunities than the West. In fact, I don't think there are many Chinese immigrants. China has a large population base, and the proportion of immigrants is still very small.Even if many people immigrate, I am not worried about this issue, because I have contacted a lot of overseas Chinese immigrants.I have a rough estimate that at least 70% of people will become more patriotic after going out.The more people complain at home, the faster they will change when they go out, because they imagine foreign countries too well. Their impression of Europe and America is what they see in movies and advertisements, which is thousands of miles away from the real West. As a result, I was disappointed a lot when I went out.In the past ten years, if you lived in China, especially the developed parts of China, your wealth may have increased two to three times; if you immigrated to the United States, your wealth may have shrunk due to the financial crisis For a quarter, it is not easy to return home today.Missing out the great era and many opportunities of China's rapid rise is still the heartache of many overseas Chinese. In my opinion, even the so-called middle-class people who immigrated to Europe and the United States for various reasons, most of them keep their roots in China, including their own businesses and assets, because they also understand that China will continue to grow in at least 10 or 20 years from now. It is the country with the most opportunities in the world.The annual inflow of funds into China also far exceeds the outflow of funds; the number of overseas students who return to China each year now exceeds the number of people who go abroad to study.As long as we have a medium- and long-term strategic vision, the benefits of moderate-scale immigration to China far outweigh the disadvantages.For various reasons, some people immigrated abroad. Whether they come back later or stay abroad after overcoming various difficulties, it is good for China, because China's interests have covered Europe, America and the whole world.If there are more people at home and abroad to promote the connection between China and Europe and the United States, China and the world, and promote the rise of the entire Chinese nation, this is the great fortune of the nation.The breadth and strength of China's rise and the vast development opportunities it provides have never been seen in the entire history of mankind. It should be a once-in-a-lifetime luck for a person to be able to participate in this process.If someone wants to give up this luck and immigrate, no one will stop him.