The West should do better to respond to an offer of cooperation from China rather than seek confrontation, and find a common way to solve the crises challenging all of humanity, according to a declaration published on Tuesday by the Schiller Institute, a political and economic think tank based in Germany.

The declaration, which was signed by over 30 experts, including the institute's founder and president Helga Zepp LaRouche, denounced what it said was an intensifying international campaign against China.

"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," it said.

All signatories to the declaration have had "direct experience with China, be it that we have lived or worked there, or from repeated travel over longer periods of time."

Bases on their experience and witnesses, they said the Chinese people are "fundamentally more optimistic about the future than the West" after the nation's successful poverty eradication campaign. And "trust in government is substantially greater," which is illustrated and strengthened by the effective way China brought COVID-19 under control.

The statement also said that China has been making progress in science and technology as well as innovation, urging the West to "do better to respond to the offer of cooperation, than seeking confrontation."

(Cover: A view of Lujiazui area at the Bund in Shanghai, E China, January 6, 2020. /Xinhua)