China’s latest attempt to rally the world against Western values

Thirty years ago, in the wake of the Soviet Union’s collapse, Samuel Huntington, an American scholar, offered a bleak view of how the world would change. He suggested that a “clash of civilisations” would replace the erstwhile cold-war conflict between West and East. As China’s struggle with America intensifies, President Xi Jinping has recently proposed a different view—that civilisations can live in harmony. It may sound tritely upbeat, but its underlying message is less so. The West must stop promoting its values, or Huntington will be proven right.

Since Mr Xi unveiled his Global Civilisation Initiative (GCI) on March 15th, state media have brimmed with fawning coverage. The English edition of Global Times, a nationalist tabloid, has dubbed the president’s idea “Xivilisation”, calling it “all important” and “full of Chinese wisdom”. Writing in the South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong newspaper, a Chinese diplomat alluded to Huntington: “At a time when the antiquated thesis of a ‘clash of civilisations’ is resurfacing, China’s emphasis on the equality of civilisations is needed more than ever for a peaceful world.” In other words, the West should learn to live with Chinese communism. It may be based on Marxism, a Western theory, but it is also the fruit of China’s ancient culture.