Editor's note: The article is part of CGTN's series called "A New Vision for China's Economic Future", in which global economists and eminent academics share their personal views and insights on China's economic development. Stephen Brawer is the chairman of the Belt and Road Institute in Sweden. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

It is incumbent upon true representative governments to honor and consider the best interests of their people. Chinese President Xi Jinping's decision to launch the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013 not only represents the will and best interests of the Chinese people, but also provides the framework for the best interests of humanity as a whole. True sovereignty and freedom of any nation is totally dependent upon development, which in turn provides a decent and sustainable living standard for all citizens.

The successful elimination of extreme poverty in China is a shining example of this. China with its population of 1.4 billion people has lifted 800 million people out of extreme poverty within four decades, a result which leading Western nations such as the U.S., the UK, and the EU have failed to even come close to achieving. All the talk about defending "freedom and democracy" in a "Rules Based Order" has become empty rhetoric with no substance.

The Economic Reality

The truth is that most of the Western economies are in a state of general collapse. The great bulk of all investments are linked to pure monetary speculation. This includes financial instruments, such as money markets, derivatives, and various types of raw materials and commodity price speculation. The bubble of the dollar-based financial system has reached hundreds and even thousands of trillions of dollars. In Sweden, total transactions in the money markets are approximately 800 billion Swedish crowns per day. That figure surpasses the Swedish national GDP in just a week. Yet, there is a refusal to even acknowledge the incompetent direction of the national economic policy. Decision-making within the EU and the G-7 has led instead, to an increasing attempt to blame China and the developing nations for the problems that are being caused by the West's own mismanagement.

The fact that nearly 160 nations in the world are actively participating in the Belt and Road Initiative speaks volumes about the real success of the global infrastructure development perspective. The participating countries include almost 75 percent of the world population. China has become the world's manufacturing superpower. According to data published by the United Nations Statistics Division, China accounted for 28.7% of global manufacturing output in 2019. This was approximately equal to the combined manufacturing output of the U.S., Japan, and Germany combined. In light of this, the primary focus on building physical infrastructure has been the basis for its growing influence among developing nations worldwide. Without investments in water projects, electrical power plants, and advanced transportation systems, including fast trains and modern roads for connectivity, there is virtually no hope to eliminate poverty on a global scale. The technology to accomplish this has never been the obstacle to achieving it, at least not since the end of WWll. The problem has been that there is no active intention to do it. China has seized that initiative, whereas the Western nations and its institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank have refused to embrace it.

Infrastructure investments necessarily involve very large, long-term investments that depend upon the direction, guidance, and financing of nation-states. The private sector can complement and engage in such great national development, but it will never be able to sustain such investments independently. Private investments based on short-term large-scale monetary profits, such as Blackrock are not, and have never been, the road to better and broader infrastructure investments.

This is what separates China and the Belt and Road Initiative from nearly all Western institutions, and its so-called alternatives such as "Build Back Better". It is the reason that many developing nations are now turning to China, as the "Beacon of Hope" for all mankind, or as China's President Xi Jinping expressed it "a community for a shared future for mankind". That title which once belonged to the U.S. does so, no longer. It will take a great reversal of policy away from militarism and economic speculation if the U.S. and its European allies will be able to restart a spirit of economic cooperation and real infrastructure development. Such a change in perspective would even mean active participation in the Belt and Road Initiative. In Sweden, this would mean participation in the BRI instead of the utterly hopeless and tragic decision to join the NATO.

The Cultural and Moral Factor

All of these are designed not to replace the BRI, but to further elaborate upon the foundation of the BRI. These proposals have established the BRI as the greatest global development project in human history, far exceeding the Marshall Plan both in numbers and outreach. However, rather than being inspired by such a historic accomplishment, the U.S., the UK, and mostly the Western EU countries, are threatened by it. They have refused to tolerate Western mainstream media information and accurate reporting on how the BRI is expanding and increasing ongoing infrastructure projects around the globe. They prefer to paint a picture of "demonizing" China with false narratives about a "debt trap" and "human rights" violations in Xinjiang, Xizang, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. These are all part of an aggressive response to the inevitable rise of China and Asia, but even to how Africa and South America are turning to China and the BRI as the way forward to a future free from neo-colonialism, and a unipolar world dominated by old structures of exploitation. These tactics are failing. The new direction is for a new financial and currency system no longer dependent on the dollar-denominated world currency exchange. This will free nations which refuse to follow the dictates of the Western power structure from being punished with sanctions directed against their population and their sovereign rights to decide their own political and economic policies. This is a new direction that will allow true democratic freedom from the tyranny of a unipolar world order.

The Deeper Cultural and Philosophical Issues

As an invited speaker to the Forum on Global Human Rights Governance in Beijing on the 14th and 15th of June this year, I had the opportunity to identify the problem of deep-seated fear and virtual total ignorance of China's great 5,000-year-old civilization, among the leading decision makers in the West today. That problem has in no way lessened in these following weeks. If anything, it has become even worse. It is a dominant reason behind the West's refusal to join hands with the BRI.

In the spirit of Chinese President Xi Jinping's Global Civilization Initiative, there is a clear intention to build bridges between the different cultures of the world. This will lead to increased understanding and respect among the different people and nations. These are the necessary conditions for dialogue, good communication, and ultimately friendship. It is, therefore, the ultimate pathway to economic and political cooperation.

What then explains the failure on the part of the West to overcome this profound fear and ignorance of China? Western decision-makers are presently dominated by a Hobbesian worldview that sees human nature as fundamentally evil, egotistical, and controlled by self-interest. Therefore, solutions to differences among nations are resolved not by understanding but instead, by the use of brute force and deceit. Since human beings, according to Hobbes are evil by nature, there is no basis for trust among others who think differently. The demonization of China, as a threat to Western interests, and the intentional lies spread by military intelligence think tanks through Western mainstream media are designed to reinforce this thinking in the populations of the U.S., the UK, and Western European members of the EU. This is the mentality that is increasing the dangers of the militarism of NATO. The war in Ukraine will be decided by force, not negotiation. In addition, is the increasing threat of militarism in the Pacific by the deployment of AUKUS (Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) a further effort to expand NATO in some form into the Pacific theater and thereby contain China.

However, the culture of Chinese civilization is based on totally different philosophical premises. The essential character of Confucian thinking emphasizes the basic goodness of human beings. Social problems are addressed by the fundamental respect of the family structure. This creates the moral responsibility of each person to others and to the sovereign, a framework that inherently promotes the common good of neighbors and society. In addition, it is the moral goodness of the human spirit in the Chinese people that are virtually written in their hearts. It is in the souls of the people. It is what has preserved Chinese civilization uninterrupted for so many generations. It is this kind of history and thinking from which the Belt and Road Initiative has emerged. It is what President Xi Jinping has called "Socialism with Chinese Characteristics."

The reemergence of a positive tradition in Western philosophical thinking, one in the spirit of Matteo Ricci is the pathway to reestablish a living spirit of communication and friendship between East and West. As stated in the publication Matteo Ricci: Letters from China, Jean-Paul Wiest writes, to commemorate the beginning of the third millennium, the Chinese government built a monument shaped like a sundial. Inside, it created a long fresco celebrating individuals who have made significant contributions to the progress of civilization during the several thousand years of Chinese history. In this impressive succession of important people, only two Westerners are represented: Marco Polo (1254-1324) and Matteo Ricci (1552-1610), the men who made the West known to China. These Western philosophical thinkers knew the basic goodness of human beings. They also studied and saw in Chinese culture a social structure that would benefit Europe in helping to put an end to so many brutal and barbaric wars on European soil. It is important for us to work together in this spirit for a "Global Civilization Initiative" while celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative this year.