序言

傅莹大使的人生颇不平凡：豆蔻年华时经历“文化大革命”，在中国农村“上山下乡”；后来在外交事业上成绩斐然，成为最能清晰地传递中国声音的使者之一。在这本演讲录中，读者可以深入了解中国乃至整个世界所面临的机遇和挑战。

我坚信，要了解当今世界，就要先了解全球化的快速进程，了解它的影响力以及中国在这个进程中举足轻重的地位。

当我坐下来写这篇序言时，获悉中国刚刚成为世界第二大经济体。在几十年前，这是很多人所无法想象的。不过，你读到这本书时，这则新闻肯定已经成了旧闻——事情发展就是这样迅速，突发新闻很快就会变得人尽皆知。

你若明白了这一点，就可以从这种疾速的变化中获益。傅莹充分意识到了这一点，世界上其他国家和领导人也应该深有体会。

傅莹大使一直致力于把中国介绍给全世界，并向全世界敞开中国的大门。她乐于与别国交流并向别国学习，同时亦清晰地意识到，其他国家也可以从中国那里获益良多。

在我担任英国首相时，我看到了中国作为主要大国持续而迅猛的发展。我曾作过关于中国的演讲，对这个国家有理性的认识。但是，我从未带着个人感情去感受它，因此，在政治上，我对它的了解还不甚充分。

卸任以来，我曾多次出访。人们有时不无担忧地问我，如今世界重心东移，未来究竟会怎样？我把这看作是一次巨大的契机，它只会令我们的生活更加丰富多彩。就拿北京奥运会来说：那场激动人心的盛典显示了中国的能力，可以说是21世纪的中国与外部世界交融所作的最大努力。奥运盛会表明了中国对外开放和作为全球共同体的一分子向前发展的意愿。

就在北京奥运会之前不久，我曾到中国的一家新兴网络公司进行了一次非正式访问，还和一些年轻的中国企业家进行了交谈，我对北京奥运会最深刻的印象便是在这次访问期间形成的。

这些年轻人，无论男女，都很聪明、机敏而直率，敢于表达自己对中国和中国未来的看法。最重要的是，他们充满信心，乐观向上，不见愤世嫉俗之戾气，却充满十足干劲之朝气，这让我想起了鼎盛时期的美国，也想起了所有正在前行之中的国家。

这些人没有活在忧惧之中，而是满怀希望地向前看。虽然中国还有数千万贫困人口，还有政治、社会、经济等等很多问题有待解决，但在这场体育庆典中闪耀的正是那种精神，那种决定中国未来的精神。

北京奥运会为中外交往留下了巨大的财富，外界对中国的无知和恐惧正在逐渐减少，一个真实的当代中国已经更加清晰地展现在世人面前。

西方世界遇到的问题是，中国总是将自己看作发展中国家。的确，它是发展中国家，但现在它也是一个世界强国。关于国际关系，我有一个粗浅的理论：西方人看到发展中国家时会说，“这难道不好吗——那个贫困的发展中国家——我们能帮上什么忙呢？”但是他们看到另一个国家并且认为“那是个强国”，这时他们会说，“那对我们来说意味着什么？”这就是中国所面临的两难境地——它既是发展中国家，也是强国。所以，当昨天有人问我，“西方人把中国当成威胁吗？”我的回答是“也许有些人的确如此”，但对大多数西方人而言，他们只会问：“它对我们来说意味着什么？”

几个世纪以来，西方一直占据支配性的地位，其中包括很多欧洲强国，比如大英帝国；到了20世纪，美国也强盛起来。现在，西方国家必须接受这样一个事实：如今世界上是远东与西方共享权力。我在想，我们在文化上（不只是政治和经济上）已经占据主导地位这么久，是否能够真正理解那意味着什么？对某些人来说，这将是个非常陌生、甚至可能会令人不安的体验。但我个人觉得，它将推动新经验、新思维解放创造力，极大地丰富我们的世界。

我所说的，以及傅莹大使多年来一直在讲的，最根本的一点就是，我们不必害怕新生的和陌生的事物。愿意相互尊重、相互学习的国家和人民必会出类拔萃。这是21世纪的发展方向，也是中国和西方交往的必由之路。读一读这本书，认识一下这位非凡的女性，你会发现，傅莹已经在这条路上前行了很多年。

托尼·布莱尔

英国前首相

Foreword

Ambassador Fu Ying has led an extraordinary life:from her experience as a young girl,sent out to rural China as part of the Cultural Revolution to her distinguished diplomatic career,where she has been one of China's most articulate messengers of the nation's promise.And in this book of speeches,the reader will find an advanced understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing China and the rest of the world.

I firmly believe that to understand the world today,you have to understand the rapid pace of globalisation,its effects and China's very significant place within it.

As I sit down to write this foreword,news reaches me that China has just become the second largest economy in the world.Unthinkable to many just a couple of decades ago.Yet,this news will no doubt feel dated by the time you pick up this book:that's how fast events develop and breaking news becomes received wisdom.

When you understand this,you can reap the benefits of this rapid change.Fu Ying appreciates this and so too should leaders and nations across the globe.

Ambassador Fu has dedicated herself to introducing and opening up China to the rest of the world.And she does so equipped with a willingness to engage and learn from others alongside an acute awareness of the many lessons other nations can learn from China.

When I was Prime Minister,I could see the accelerating pace of China's continued emergence as a major power.I gave speeches about China,I understood it analytically.But I did not feel it emotionally and therefore did not fully understand it politically.

Since leaving office I have visited many times.People ask me,sometimes out of fear,what the future holds in a world where power is shifting East.I see it as an enormous opportunity that can only enrich our own lives.Take the Beijing Olympics:that breathtaking showcase of what China is capable of was arguably 21st—century China's greatest exercise of engagement with the outside world.Those Games were evidence of China's willingness to open up and to move forward as part of our global community.

The moment of the Games that made the biggest impression on me came during an informal visit just before the Games to one of the new Chinese Internet companies,and in conversation with some of the younger Chinese entrepreneurs.

These people,men and women,were smart,sharp,forthright,unafraid to express their views about China and its future.Above all,there was a confidence,an optimism,a lack of the cynical,and a presence of the spirit of get up and go,that reminded me greatly of the U.S.at its best and any country on its way forward.

These people weren't living in fear,but looking forward in hope.And for all the millions still in poverty in China,for all the sweep of issues—political,social and economic—still to be addressed,that was the spirit of China during this festival of sport,and that is the spirit that will define its future.

The great engagement legacy of the Beijing Olympics was that ignorance and fear of China is steadily declining as the reality of modern China becomes more apparent to the rest of the world.

The problem for the West is that China often thinks of itself as a developing nation,and it is a developing nation,but it is also today a world power.And here is my very crude theory of international relations:when people in the West look at a developing nation,they say,"Isn't that nice—that poor developing nation—how can we help?"But when they look at another nation and they say,"That's a power,"then they say,"What does that mean for us?"And this is the dual situation:China is a developing nation;it is also a power.And so,when I was asked yesterday by someone,"Do people in the West regard China as a threat?"the answer is some,possibly.But for most people in the West,they just ask,"What does it mean?"

For centuries,the power has resided in the West,with various European powers including the British Empire and then,in the 20th century,the U.S.Now the West must come to terms with a world in which the power is shared with the Far East.I wonder if we quite understand what that means,we whose culture (not just our politics and economies)has dominated for so long.It will be a rather strange,possibly unnerving experience for some.Personally,I think it will be incredibly enriching.New experiences,new ways of thinking liberate creative energy.

Essentially what I'm saying,and what Ambassador Fu has been saying for many years,is that we should not fear the new and unfamiliar.People and nations excel when they're willing to learn from and respect each other.That is the way of the 21st century and that is the way China and the West must engage.Reading this book and knowing this extraordinary woman,you'll find that Fu Ying has been working on this for many years.

Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Preface

The first decade of the 21st century saw a steady rise in China's position in the world.This has placed China under a global spotlight with scrutiny from the world over as never before.The impact of China's rise has been felt in Western countries wherever one goes,from being woken up by a Made—in—China alarm clock in the morning,to the television they watch in the evening.Someone living in a Western society is likely to be surrounded by products made in China all day long.But what kind of country is China?Why is it so different?And how can it generate such explosive productivity?These questions are often baffling,if not downright mysterious,to Westerners.

Soon after the birth of the People's Republic,China was subjected to a Western blockade.And for a long time during the Cold War,China and the West were on opposite sides of the "Bamboo Curtain."Some of China's actions at times did not help matters either and it was only towards the end of the Cold War when the international environment improved sufficiently to enable China to embark on the path of reform and opening up.This has led to more than 30years of growing dialogue and interdependence between China and the West.The thick barrier of icy suspicion that used to separate the two sides has started to thaw.However,the wave of China—bashing in the lead—up to the 2008Beijing Olympics once again revealed widespread understanding deficits and prejudice towards China in Western countries.

During my terms as China's Ambassador to Australia and subsequently to the United Kingdom,I was often troubled by the fog of stereotyping that stubbornly shrouds China's image in Western countries.It is not only hurting China's image,but has also hindered the deepening of relations between China and some Western countries,making our relations vulnerable at any sign of trouble,and it was these issues that I addressed in my speeches.

A nation's image and soft power is mainly built up through its own efforts and progress.China is not perfect.There are many problems waiting to be resolved as we move ahead with our reforms.However,there is sometimes frustration in China that our efforts and progress often go unappreciated and the myriad of challenges we face poorly understood.This may also be attributed to China's unique historical and cultural traditions,a political configuration easily distinguishable from that of the West,and even the language barrier.

Therefore,we need to work even harder to project a true image of China and send our message to the world,calmly and in plain language,just like "the spring drizzle moistening the parched earth."Chinese ambassadors around the world are working very hard in this respect and many splendid pieces have been collected,compiled and published.Of course we cannot expect to dispel the fog with one speech,or ten speeches,or even a hundred of them,but it is a must—do if we are ever to help shape a world of harmony in diversity.

I feel a little uneasy about this book coming out,since speeches are often made by invitation and prepared in a hurry down to the last minute,to say nothing of my belief that I was often not an expert on the issues I tried to address.So there will inevitably be flaws and inaccuracies.Besides,most speeches included were prepared in English in the first place and their translation may seem not "Chinese"enough to native Chinese speakers.Nevertheless,thanks to encouragement from my seniors,friends and colleagues,I still wish to publish this collection,in the hope that this humble effort will encourage more like—minded people to move towards greater understanding between China and the West.