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Public Lecture with Professor Daniel Bell
Monday 3rd October 2011
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Asialink and the Asia Society AustralAsia Centre were pleased to host Professor Daniel Bell for a public lecture on how China’s foreign policy is informed by its own traditional values. Speaking to an audience of over 100, Professor Bell argued that Western-style liberal democracy is not the only form of political modernity, and that China’s leading officials and thinkers can and are gaining more insight from the Confucian philosophers of the past. Drawing on contemporary Chinese intellectuals, he noted that the Confucian ideal of a benevolent and meritocratic state resonates with many in China and increasingly informs its foreign policy. Within this framework, the state is responsible for the wellbeing of its citizens as well as those living outside of its borders. Potential conflicts are best settled through persuasion and negotiation, and officialdom should be reserved for talented and ethical individuals.
Professor Bell emphasised that these ideals of Confucian statecraft are yet to be consistently practiced by Chinese leaders, and that one should also not dismiss the influence of Western ideals such as the rule of law and human rights to China’s continued development. Nevertheless, an understanding of Chinese values and history are essential to a nuanced reading of its foreign policy today. Professor Bell’s analysis demonstrated that while Western conceptions often dominate discussions on China’s diplomacy, there is still much to be learned from Chinese thinking on the issue. |
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Professor Bell is The Zhiyuan Chair Professor of Arts and Humanities at Shanghai Jiaotong University and professor of political theory and director of the Center for International and Comparative Political Philosophy at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
His books include China's New Confucianism and Beyond Liberal Democracy (both Princeton).
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