China has become a superpower over the past thirty years, and slowly, a mindset of animosity is developing in Western societies towards this largest and most powerful developing nation. China is stealing our wealth and our jobs. China isn’t playing fair. China is the great polluter and the new colonizer. China wants war. For each of these statements, however, a completely different one can be made. China is the country where the greatest reduction in poverty in history has taken place since 1980. China gave the world the cheap solar panel and builds half of all solar panels and wind turbines worldwide each year. China provided us with incredibly cheap products for years. China is the country where Western multinationals achieved an average return on investment of 20 percent. China is building the infrastructure that Africa desperately needs. China is claiming its rightful place in the governance of the world, and so on, and so forth…

John Vandaele first visited China in the spring of 1989 and has been there many times since. He has witnessed its growth firsthand.

In his talk, he connects the two sides of the Chinese coin: a country that cannot be judged in black and white terms, and with which we should aim to collaborate in a balanced way. It’s a country that follows its own path, and one from which we can learn something—Western nations are already imitating China, in fact—but it’s also a country we can think critically about. And… China is not Xina.

John Vandaele is a journalist for MO* and author of ‘De melkboer en de geschiedenis’ (The Milkman and History)

Wanneer: 11:00
Waar: Bol zaal
Spreker: John Vandaele