SCHILLER INSTITUTE

Declaration of China Experts from All Over the World

The Schiller Institute released the following statement on March 24 for circulation internationally.

For some time, an international anti-China campaign has escalated, where think tanks, mainstream media, and strategic reports of all sorts paint a picture of China and its alleged intentions which is simply not true and is extremely dangerous. An enemy image is being projected that in the worst case leads to war.

We, the signers, all having had direct experience with China, be it that we have lived or worked there, or from repeated travel over longer periods of time, could thus follow how Chinese society has transformed itself in an unprecedented way since the trauma of the Cultural Revolution. Thanks to a policy focused on the welfare of the population by the state leadership of the People’s Republic, and the extraordinary, hard work of the Chinese people, 850 million people were freed from poverty, with the result that the population is fundamentally more optimistic about the future than the West, where poverty is increasing as a consequence of neo-liberal policies. Trust in the government is substantially greater there, a trend illustrated and strengthened by the effective way China brought under control the COVID-19 pandemic.

China is a nation with a 5,000-year-old culture, leading until the 17th Century in technology, and it is thus not surprising that China today, with a population of 1.4 billion, strives for an equal place on the world stage. China’s socialism with its own Chinese characteristics is strongly shaped by the 2,500-year-old Confucian tradition, the orientation of its modern founder Sun Yat-sen to Abraham Lincoln, and—even though the Chinese hold high the tradition of Karl Marx—their current economic system is more influenced by the American System of Alexander Hamilton and Friedrich List, the most famous non-Chinese economist in China. China learns from the best.

China has a rich culture of philosophy, poetry, painting, architecture, and wonderful folk music. President Xi Jinping emphasizes the importance of aesthetical education above all for youth as a precondition for the development of a beautiful soul, an idea promoted by the first education minister of the first Republic of China Cai Yuanpei, which furthermore originates from Friedrich Schiller and Wilhelm von Humboldt.

The success from China’s emphasis on science, technological progress and innovation, demonstrates that China is doing well with what we in the West have seemingly forgotten, and we would do better to respond to the offer of cooperation, than to seek confrontation.

We should better take up the view of the great philosopher and founder of modern mathematics, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, and, in a Dialogue of Cultures, find a way to solve the crises challenging all of Humanity.

Signers of the “Declaration of China Experts from All Over the World,” as of March 25, 2021:

Helga Zepp-LaRouche, Founder and President, Schiller-Institut, Germany

Jacques Cheminade, President, Solidarité et Progrès, France

Uwe Behrens, logistics manager and author, Berlin, Germany

Prof. Dr. Ole Döring, Berlin, Germany, and Changsha, China

Marcelo Muñoz, Founder and former President, Cátedra China (Spain), experienced in China since 1978.

Simón Levy, Founder, Cátedra México-China, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)

Sebastiano Brusco, pianist, Italy

Jacqueline Myrrhe, freelance journalist for space travel, Neubrandenburg, Germany

Diana Milewa, opera singer, Germany

Prof. Elena Bazhenova, Institute for Far Eastern Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

Prof. Andrei V. Ostrovskii, Institute for Far Eastern Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

Prof. Mohamed Ali Ibrahim, Ph.D., Professor of Economics, Founder and former Dean, International Transport and Logistics Institute, Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, Cairo, Egypt; former Director, AASTMT Port Said branch; former Advisor to the Egyptian Transport Minister

Prof. Engr. Zamir Ahmed Awan, Sinologist (former diplomat); editor; analyst; Non-Resident Fellow, Center for China and Globalization (CCG), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan

Yiorgos Veis, Ambassador ad honorem, Deputy First Secretary, Greek Embassy in Beijing 1991-1994; Consul General in Hong Kong 2000-2004; poet

Leonidas Chrysanthopoulos, Ambassador ad honorem; Deputy Ambassador, Greek Embassy in Beijing (1991-1993)

Jürgen Heiducoff, Afghanistan War veteran and author

Prof. Dr.-Eng. Reinhold Meisinger

Leena Maliki, opera singer, Sweden

Associate Prof. Verner D. Worm, Department of International Economics, Government, and Business, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark

Enzo Siviero, bridge builder; Rector, eCampus University, Padua, Italy

Eng. Spartak Nano, Vice-President, Albanian Confindustria

Prof. Blagoje Babić, Serbia

Carlo Levi Minzi, pianist, Italy

Thore Vestby, former Member of Norwegian Parliament; co-founder, Ichi Foundation

Jasminka Simić, Ph.D., editor-journalist of Radio-Television of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia

Bernd Matthes, consultant, Dresden, Germany and Jinan, China

Haider Al-Rubaye, President, Iraqi-Chinese Friendship Association; Honorary Member, Federation of Chambers of Commerce, Iraq

Prof. Wilfried Schreiber, military economist, philosopher, peace researcher, Germany

Dr. Alawi Swabury, ESSB KG/Europe-Asia-Africa Consulting Institute, Berlin, Germany

Rubén Darío Guzzetti, international affairs analyst, Argentine Institute of Geopolitical Studies (IADEG)

Prof. Andrea Szegö, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology, Budapest College of Management, Hungary

Živadin Jovanović, President, Belgrade Forum for a World of Equals, Serbia

Prof. Bassam El Hachem, Professor of Political Sociology, Arts and Human and Social Sciences Doctoral School, Lebanese University, Lebanon

DeWayne Hopkins, Alderman at Large, City of Muscatine, Iowa; former Mayor of Muscatine, USA

Michele De Gasperis, Founder and President, Italian One Belt One Road Institute, Italy

Prof. Dr. Wolf-Dietrich Karl Rückert, industrial consultant; descendant of the poet Friedrich Rückert, Austria

Eduardo Klinger Pevida, Director, Center for the Study and Analysis of China and Asia, Dominican Republic

George Floras, Managing Partner, Belt and Road Associates, Greece

Elisabeth Kiderlen, CEO, Hainan Treasure Business Consulting Services (U.S. citizen, after 17 years in China)

Mario Cavolo, Senior Fellow, Center for China & Globalization

Dr. Wei-Jiang Xu, teacher-researcher, National Institute of Applied Sciences (INSA), Hauts-de-France, France

Shakeel Ahmad Ramay, Director, China Center, Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Islamabad, Pakistan

Mr. Seymur Mammadov, Director, The International Expert Club EurAsiaAz, Azerbaijan

Bruno Guigue, researcher in political philosophy, France

Luis González, Sinologist; former Director, Asian Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dominican Republic

Anne Lettrée, historian of contemporary modern art; specialist in Chinese contemporary art; CEO, Silk Road Business School, France

Mike Gravel, former U.S. Senator (D-Alaska, 1969-1981) and twice a candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. President

If you wish to add your name to the list of signers, please send an e-mail to contact@schillerinstitute.org including your full name and either your position or a brief description of your personal experience with China.