China's restoration is history repeating itself: U.S. media

BEIJING -- China's restoration, deemed by the West as the so-called "rise of China," is history repeating itself, according to an article published recently by Bloomberg Businessweek.

"The country looks like a latecomer to Americans and other Westerners -- but from its own perspective, this is a restoration," said the article written by Michael Schuman, an American journalist and author who has lived and worked in Asia since 1996.

"The West really got China 'wrong' by understanding the country's arrival as a major power within the confines of its own -- not China's -- historical experience," it said.

"Because of that, we in the U.S. and the West talk and think about China the wrong way and craft policies mismatched to the deep historical trends shaping today's China and its role in the world," it added.

The article said the West should look at China within the context of the country's own history, instead of from the West perspective.

"We call it (China) an 'emerging market,' which it is within the boundaries of our own view," said the article. "Rather than something startling, China's growth into the world's second-largest economy is a return to the norm. So is the critical role it plays in modern manufacturing and trade."

The article said a much better way to describe the country's 21st century ascent is as a "restoration."

It suggests that China's restoration should be treated in another way as contemporary China is still a middle-income country.

"Yet from a policy standpoint, it's wiser to recognize the historical trends propelling it forward and rejigger the world order to address Chinese aspirations," it said.

"It won't be easy. But neither is denying history," the article added.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of Qiushi Journal.