MADRID, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese ideas favor cooperation over confrontation, Manuel Montobbio, the Spanish Ambassador in Andorra explained in an interview with Xinhua.
Montobbio is the writer of a recently published book: "Chinese ideas: the global rise of China and the Theory of International Relations," in his native Spanish.
In his work, Montobbio highlights that Chinese ideas include "a capacity to make differing concepts work together," which allows them to avoid the need for confrontation.
"We consider things to be dichotomous, while the Chinese consider that something can be united and opposed at the same time and in that sense there is a capacity to see that everything can be transformed," he explained.
He gave as an example the "Art of War" by Sun Tzu, a Chinese general, military strategist and philosopher who lived in the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China.
Sun Tzu explained that a good strategy is one which wins wars and obtains victory without needing to fight. This idea contrasts sharply with the western thinker Carl Phillipe von Clausewitz, who believed that war was merely the continuation of politics by other methods.
However, even though there are differences between western and Chinese ways of thinking, that doesn't mean they cannot coexist.
"Chinese ideas lead us towards cooperation, but that is only possible with an understanding of other cultures," explained Montobbio, who warned that it is "difficult for this understanding to happen if one person is playing chess, while the other plays 'wei qi' (a traditional Chinese boardgame)."
He considers the work carried out by Chinese to promote its ideas and culture is positive. "Their global expansion also implies forming part of the international society and being able to explain themselves," Montobbio commented, adding that the management of international affairs cannot happen without China's involvement.
