China has repeatedly caught the world off guard. We | Article | China
On July 19th, the Financial Times website published an article titled "China Wins the Advantage by Surprisingly" by Elizabeth Iconomi, a senior researcher at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University in the United States. The full text is excerpted as follows:
China has repeatedly caught the world off guard. Most members of the international community were surprised by the "the Belt and Road" initiative launched in 2013 and the recent emergence as the world's largest automobile exporter and leader in the field of electric vehicles.
We cannot prevent everything from being unexpected, but we can increase possibilities by developing a comprehensive framework for understanding China: not only focusing on China's actual situation, but also on its ambitious goals; Pay attention not only to Chinese leaders, but also to Chinese society; Not only focus on external perspectives in China, but also on internal perspectives within China.
Chinese policies reflect both the actual situation and ambitious goals. For example, the astonishing rise of China's electric vehicle industry is not an overnight miracle, but a result of the country's long-term strategic priority.
In 1999, China proposed action goals, timelines, and a series of measures from central and local governments to support domestic production of clean energy vehicles.
Sometimes, progress can be frustrating. Until 2020, China still has some way to go before the target of producing 5 million electric vehicles. But last year, China produced 7.058 million electric vehicles. Now, as China prepares to export cars to other parts of the world, car manufacturers - especially Europe, which has lower economic barriers to importing electric vehicles from China - are facing a difficult situation to cope with.
![China has repeatedly caught the world off guard. We | Article | China](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/a3a9f957209cc043297515cf5ca119e2.jpg)
▲ Scene of the 20th millionth offline event of China's new energy vehicles captured at Guangzhou GAC Aian First Intelligent Manufacturing Center
Staying in China for a period of time is very important to avoid feeling surprised.
Analysts, journalists, businessmen, and students need to travel to China to explore the intricacies and subtle differences of this country.
As China adjusts its epidemic prevention and control policies, leaders from the United States and other regions are seizing the opportunity to interact with their Chinese counterparts and witness firsthand how this country operates. No excellent coach would proactively overlook the opportunity to personally understand the thoughts and plans of top competitors.
By examining China from multiple perspectives, the international community is most likely to avoid missing opportunities and encountering costly accidents.