"The ancient vision of the Chinese is that Chinese culture is the sustainer of global civilisation. For thousands of years, a link with the emperor was for them a sign of belonging to the civilised world: anyone who did not have a link with him was considered barbaric, outside civilisation. And the experience of the last century is that they see themselves as a state, and in the international order, China has become a state with stronger powers (...) Based on Chinese universalism, China has a global historical mission, which is to bring harmony between different civilisations so that different cultures and systems can live in peace with each other on earth," he explained.
Eric Hendriks stressed that
according to the current Chinese idea, "there are several civilisations, and the point is that they can live together peacefully, harmoniously, not interfering in each other's affairs".
"This includes the expectation that the West does not impose its values, its liberal approach to human rights, its concept of liberal democracy on the East, and that it accepts that the West is only one of the civilisations on earth and therefore cannot make universal claims," he explained.
The interview also mentioned that, according to the sociologist, "the Chinese do not intend to export their political model in the way the West does".
