Laurence: I’ve watched the city change and the whole country transform over the past four decades. So, it’s been great to be a part of that transformation and to live it.
Laurence Brahm, an American who has resided in Beijing for more than four decades, holds numerous titles, including global activist, international lawyer, political economist, director and so on. Most importantly, he is a participant in economic reform and a witness to China's opening up to the world.
Today, Laurence will share with us his insightful observations behind these changes.
Laurence moved to Beijing during the beginning of China's reform and opening up, where he worked as a lawyer bringing in foreign investment. In 1992, Laurence went through a breakthrough point when he closed out the largest technology transfer dispute at that time historically between China and the United States.
Laurence: It was because we closed that deal and we ended that long-standing technology dispute that then their investment came in and more investment came in. And then from that point, I was rationed. I remembered doing one deal after another. I did the first deal for Ericsson, the first deal for Exxon Mobil, watching these multi nationals pouring into China and then the 90s was just a huge rush of foreign investment. And i began working with the government on the reform. So it was quite a exciting time.
This was the period when it was probably one of the most dynamic here in Beijing and in all over China. It was not only a time when foreign investment was pouring in but also a time of enormous creativity, and China was looking out. The art movement was also wild at that time. But along with the development, there were challenges.
Laurence: Then we begin the work on restructuring the state-owned enterprises. That was a huge challenge then. And how the whole society would transform once these mega loss rusts. Compounded state-owned enterprises turn themselves or transform into what would become multi-national corporations. Creating the housing, mend the law for how do you own a property. How do you mortgage the property. The banking legislation had to change. The way banks work had to change. Insurance came in suddenly. Pension funds came in. So there was not just about the enterprises, it was an entire social restructuring that took place. And the society changed. It would never be the same after.
It’s hard to imagine the undertaking that must have been, trying to overhaul everything from the planned economy to a marketing economy. But what an excitement to see how bold China is and how far China has come since those early days of the change.
China’s economy was to take off because of all these changes that took place. Also, during the same period, Laurence worked not only in Beijing for China but also in Vietnam and Laos and advised the local governments. In Laos, he helped redesign the financial reformation and literally drafted the enterprise law for the country and the banking legislation. Likewise, Laurence worked on a stock market and helped open the first foreign exchange center in Vietnam.
Laurence: But what was really crucial at that time was that I was doing a kind of monetary shuttle diplomacy between Laos Vietnam and the Central Bank in China here. Beijing was interested in what was happening in Yantian and Hanoi. And likewise they were looking to China and say what are you gonna do. So in a way was this approach that helped to create a gradual transformation of these countries and put them on the fast track that would be hyper growth and economic prosperity for all three of these countries.
These Asian countries' relationships demonstrate the spirit of cooperation and mutual interest that has existed for a long time——the Silk Road.
In recent years, China has been promoting the Belt and Road Initiative, intending to revitalize the long-standing trade links and friendships. Laurence says the Initiative has been helping to establish an infrastructure model for Asia, Africa, and Europe.
Laurence: It’s not China pushing a model out, it’s sharing its experience. We go back to those 1990s working with Premier Zhu RongJi. A key problem is that a lot of those state-owned enterprise and factories were in China’s interior. So the government putting the infrastructure of road, railway systems, ports, without back. You are never gonna get investment in and you are never get product out. So a lot of the landlocked states of Africa, central Asia, south Asia are in the same situation and they need that infrastructure.
In response to some western countries and their media’s challenges to the Belt and Road Initiative, Laurence says:
Laurence: That universal values are now established by only a few countries. United States have 4% of the world's population. You have 10%, 14%. (They) can’t really be telling the world what are the universal values.
Laurence referred to the Belt and Road Initiative as hardware, but he also emphasized the significance of a set of values and a theoretical framework to serve as software.
Laurence: It’s not enough just get to say get goods to market and you have investment. Because western doesn’t understand the Belt and Road. We have to understand it in the context of the reforms that take place in 90s. A road goes in, it creates transport. But around it is an economic zone or belt which has prosperity because whatever take place there in turns of the core business you have to have the services and other industries which build up along. So now if you see this as the revival of the new Silk Road or the cyber Silk Road. You also need to have a philosophical framework. You need to have a set of values. So that value comes back to what are Asian values. And the core to this is environment, respect and harmony.
According to Laurence, It’s always a zero-sum game if driven by the duality of winners and losers. However, Asian philosophy is founded on yin and yang in Chinese. It’s about prior unity, or non-duality, as the term is commonly used. The Asian cultural rhythm is all about seeking harmony and forging consensus.
Laurence: In Asian system is all about building consensus whether it’s a one-party system like China or Vietnam or whether it’s a multi-party parliamentary like India or Japan. Always there is consensus building going on. That is the rhythm of Asian politics because it’s the rhythm of culture. We have to understand you can’t apply something that’s been evolved in the west to Asia. Asia has its own and need its own culture, its own heritage, it’s own voice and it’s own values.
For Laurence, the Asian ways of doing things are to put aside the differences and focus on commonalities. Working on those commonalities until they become larger and more essential than the differences, the differences then become marginalized.
Laurence: I think what President Xi says was really right. He said if you can have more collaboration on culture then you eliminate more misunderstandings. If you eliminate misunderstandings, you eliminate conflict. And ultimately this is the region that does have huge potential for vitality because of the disparity, because of the differences, and because of also the need to protect our water resources.
Laurence considers it critical to see more cultural exchanges and dialogue involving Asian values.
Laurence: By starting earlier on this and build trust and collaboration through cultural understanding which is always the part of the Silk Road. Now we are talking about a new Silk Road and Silk Road consensus.
By enhancing cultural exchange and cross-cultural education as a mean to reduce misunderstanding and forge a community along the new Silk Road, we can expect more and more cooperation and reciprocal exchange under the new "Silk Road Consensus" and take another firm step towards the building of community of common destiny for all mankind.