Mrs. Obama's visit is a stitch in time
- By Xu Peixi
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E-mail China.org.cn, March 19, 2014
In the last academic year, over 235,000 Chinese students enrolled in U.S. institutions of higher education, a 21 percent increase over the previous year, according to the 2013 Open Doors Report on International Education Exchange. This looks like a one way flow of human capital from China to the United States but there has also been an increase in the number of American students studying in China and ambitious education projects such as "100,000 Strong" and the Schwarzman Scholars program are set to bring many more students from around the world to study in China.
These achievements in education exchanges should have stood as diamonds glittering over other aspects, but they often go un-noticed. American politics and the commercial media are more interested in depicting an assumed enemy than looking at cooperation that starts from education. Empty talk on human rights and loud screams of China threats pollute an essentially healthy relationship. A misplacement of diplomatic priority does not come from nowhere: human rights talks serve an American feeling of superiority and China threats narratives serve the interests of a colossal industrial military complex.
But none of this contributes to peace and real prosperity. It is right for Mrs. Obama to steer clear of this masculine politics and solely focus on education. She will discover that education is the most salient area where Chinese and American values overlap. She will discover the most important theory underlining the China-U.S. relationship: education holds the key to all other areas. For one example, when male-dominated American politics and the negative-minded commercial media wonder how China is rising so rapidly as a competitor in industries like solar panels and telecommunications, they often find wrong answers like intellectual property thefts and espionage when the plain truth is simply education.
The value of education in China is beyond the constraints of nation and culture, and it purely means learning anywhere that could supply knowledge and expertise. Professors and supervisors at Chinese and foreign educational institutions help to produce an educational miracle that raises many Chinese students from a humble family background to the middle class. And, when last year a Chinese mother bought a 6.5 million dollar flat in Manhattan for her toddler for the purpose of future college education, many Chinese thought that was quite understandable, and she was applauded as a modern day mother of Mencius (an ancient Chinese thinker two thousand years ago), who moved three times to better her son's education and succeeded in doing so.
Therefore, education is a mainstream topic in China-U.S. relations and it deserves its due attention. Against this backdrop, this unique mother-daughter delegation formed by Mrs. Obama, her mother and two daughters and marked by a success in family and school education will realign the China-U.S. relationship back into its proper position. The four women team will inspire many Chinese families and its value outshines the whole Obama administration.
The author is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://china.org.cn/opinion/xupeixi.htm
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