Назад до мегаімперії: філософсько-економічні й культурно-політичні стратагеми сучасного Китаю

Abstract

У статті проведено соціально-філософський аналіз геополітичних, економічних, культурних стратагем, які практикує сучасний Китай. Здійснено спробу подивитися на весь масив соціокультурних, економічних, суспільно-політичних практик, здійснюваних Китаєм, крізь призму системного підходу. Проведене дослідження дає певні підстави стверджувати, що Китай ставить особливий наголос на іміджевих заходах, покликаних підвищити рівень позитивного сприйняття китайських цінностей повсюди в світі. У економічній площині політика КНР є максимально прагматичною, і китайські економічні інтервенції до іноземних економічних активів проводяться без зайвих церемоній. Ця частина геополітики КНР позбавлена будь-якого культурного підтексту і є суто утилітарною, на відміну від інших сфер зовнішньої політики Китаю. Врешті-решт, всі ці філософсько-економічні й культурно-політичні стратагеми спрямовані на підвищення добробуту, сталого розвитку і соціальної злагоди китайської нації, на основі давніх культурно-філософських традицій та імперативів «соціалізму із китайською специфікою в нову еру» 习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想.

The article analyzes, from the standpoints of social philosophy, the implemented geopolitical, economic, and cultural stratagems in Chinese endeavour to become a “mega-empire” of our time. The “mega-empire” means such an empire that exists not only within the boundaries of its own territory, as well as not only within the population of a certain numerous nation. In fact, it goes far beyond its official borders, offering its unique development paradigms, and providing an appropriate funding for these development models. Mega-empire is able to make this proposal to many other countries, even if they function with completely different political and socio-economic systems. In addition, such a kind of superpower always translates its metanarratives to others, being deeply convinced in its civilizational mission for the rest of the world. We consider that China has real potential to become a “mega-empire” due to the combination of several factors. The first is that China has been practicing its new economic philosophy since the late 1970s. But, evidently, the economy only is not enough for restoring the “mega-empire”. The latter is impossible without an active broadcasting of its own cultural tradition and its universal ideology. No coincidence that Xi Jinping asserts that China is making a huge contribution to human development through its own growth. Another crucial statement is that China is forming a Community of Shared Future for Mankind 人类命运共同体, also translated as a Community of Common Destiny. The mentioned concept, being delivered by former Chinese Communist Party general secretary Hu Jintao, has been rethought by present leader Xi Jinping, and now is advocated by him actively. The Chinese government has raised the “Community of Common Destiny” concept with an aim to build a new framework of international relations and promote and improve global governance. That was the major amendment on China’s foreign policy in more than last four decades, shifting from being nation-oriented to focusing on the whole mankind. It may also appear as an evidence of China’s shift from the Modernity paradigm to the Postmodernity, at the initial stage of this controversial but inevitable movement. Simultaneously, for the present time Chinese society lives mainly in the sociocultural realm of Modernity, as postmodern tendencies are not so strong in China, and in Asia as a whole. The author attempted to look at the whole array of socio-cultural, economic, and political practices exercised by modern China through the lens of a systemic approach. This study suggests that China makes particular emphasis on image-based measures designed to enhance the positive perception of Chinese values, traditional culture, and modern Chinese achievements throughout the world. Chinese cultural policy is implicated in a soft-power style, and framed in Chinese cultural institutions all over the world. But the external-economic strategy of the PRC is as pragmatic as possible, and Chinese economic interventions towards foreign economic assets are conducted without undue ceremonies. This part of China’s geopolitics is devoid of any cultural implication and is purely utilitarian, unlike other areas of Chinese foreign policy. Ultimately, all of these philosophic-economic and cultural-political stratagems are aimed at enhancing the well-being, sustainable development, and social cohesion of the Chinese nation, based on longstanding cultural and philosophical traditions, and imperatives of the Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era 习 近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想. Today’s economic and cultural expansion of China is entirely within the canvas of the “Great Chinese Renaissance”, which is most illustratively declared at the political-ideological level by Xi Jinping’s foreignpolicy credo “Great Power Diplomacy with Chinese Characteristics” 中国特色大 国外交.