Global experts on China gathered in Shanghai this week for the World Conference on China Studies, where discussions centered on "Historical and Contemporary China: A Global Perspective."

Among them was Grzegorz W. Kolodko, former deputy prime minister and finance minister of Poland. He's now director of the Transformation, Integration and Globalization Economic Research (TIGER) Center at Kozminski University.

In an exclusive interview with Shanghai Daily, Kolodko discussed China's role in global cooperation, highlighted the importance of its technological progress for economic growth, and cautioned that Europe's economic ties with China are under pressure from the United States.

On the significance of today's China studies

Grzegorz Kolodko: China studies has always been important because of China's great history and its significance in global affairs.

Today it's even more important because China's economy has been growing much faster than the developed countries. And the country is now leading in a number of technologies.

Unfortunately, we are in the time of a second Cold War. From this perspective, all these initiatives – the Global Peace Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative – are important for the outside world from China's perspective.

On China's experience of economic development

Grzegorz Kolodko: Good economic policy must be based on proper economic reasoning. However, my critical observation is that, pretty often, politics is driven more by emotions than by economic knowledge. From this angle, China's pragmatic experience is very important for people in the Global South.

The so-called "West" cannot learn that much from China, with all due respect. But developing countries are keen to learn from China's positive experience: what is the recipe for economic success? How did China make this great economic, socia, and technological jump forward? And to what extent can China's positive experience be applied pragmatically to sustain economic development in other parts of the world?

On AI, technology, and China's comparative advantage

Grzegorz Kolodko: China has a comparative advantage in artificial intelligence because it's a large and populous country, meaning it has big data bases to work with.

It's also important that there's strong government support and political determination to develop AI. That makes a difference between China and the West.

Some people say that artificial intelligence marks the beginning of the end. I think, in the case of China, while there are some risks, there are also more instruments to facilitate the positive side of artificial intelligence and to contain the negative aspect.

I come to China pretty often – three times last year. What I see shows clear technological progress. There are many more electric vehicles on the roads, which has positive effects: less noise and improved air quality. I also see this technological progress in different products. For instance, I have a Xiaomi mobile phone, which is made in China.

But from another perspective, I've also seen that Chinese technologies are not always welcome in some parts of the world. These new technologies are very much involved in the politics and the competition between the West and the East, between especially the United States and China.

But technological progress is the driving force behind economic progress. In the long run, there is no economic development if we do not have sound technological progress. And from this perspective, the fact that China has made these jumps forward is very good economic progress, not only in China but also in many other countries, which are taking advantage of this Chinese technological progress.

On globalization and global governance for the future

Grzegorz Kolodko: Recently, we often heard that this is anti-globalization, or that is anti-globalization. I have a different opinion.

Globalization is an irreversible process. Yet, it must be more inclusive. That is what is referred to as "win-win globalization" in China, meaning it is beneficial for all parties involved.

Globalization is a spontaneous, long-term process of liberalization and integration of markets that previously operated quite separately. Now they are becoming connected and intertwined, creating an interdependent global economy.

China of the last 30 years is an example of the greatest success, taking advantage of globalization. And now the question is: Can the process be sustained?

My answer is that to keep this double-edged process, liberalization and integration, to make the world more interconnected and intertwined, it must be more inclusive, and that in turn requires direct institutionalization of globalization. Maybe this is what China's leadership has in mind when they are saying about the global governance initiative.

There is the need to govern global affairs, but we do not have a proper mechanism for this governance. Now, the question is how to change the organizations – the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization, and others – to make them more suitable for the challenges of the world of the future.

We are looking for a new model of governance. Then again, the question is: What can we learn from China's experience, and what can China contribute to global governance?

Each political issue calls for a kind of compromise, which is the fine art of governance. This is the process of learning by doing. It takes time.

On China-Europe cooperation

Grzegorz Kolodko: Aside from the critical and important relations between China and India, the world's two most populous countries, another critical relationship is between China and the European Union.

Recently, I heard an opinion that the world of the future would engage in conflicts between the West, led by the United States, and the East, led by China. And from time to time, these two blocs could resort to military leverage to influence the Global South.

I don't share this viewpoint. I would like to see the world of the future not divided, but consisting of the Euro-Atlantic mega-sphere and the Eurasian mega-sphere. The European continent, especially the European Union, is an indispensable part of both.

For that reason, the EU should not follow the US approach. It should not be xenophobic or engage in the US-China trade war, cold war, etc. If there's a conflict between the two powers, the EU should not take sides.

We should try to moderate tensions and pursue peaceful, pragmatic cooperation with both North America and China, for the sake of our own development. From this perspective, there is still a lot to do.

Unfortunately, the EU has somehow followed the ill-advised concept of decoupling with China, risking its economic relations with China – mostly under US insistence, both during (Joe) Biden's presidency and now, especially under the second (Donald) Trump administration.

My argument is that we should engage more in win-win cooperation with China, while remaining part of the Euro-Atlantic mega-sphere, but also remembering our position in Eurasia.

On common misconceptions about China

Grzegorz Kolodko: I would say that the narrative about contemporary China in the Western media is far from objective. There is a lot of misunderstandings, single skepticism. Unfortunately, because of political reasons, there is also a lot of xenophobia. People are somehow following the political narrative.

So the more people come to China, the better and much easier they can understand China.

This conference is important because it brings together people from around the world – people who have a much broader and deeper understanding of China's real history, culture, economy, politics and society. The exchange of these values is very productive. I'm learning a lot.

Now, the question is how we can bring this knowledge to a wider audience and make a positive impact on the world's understanding of China.