By Dr. Dai Fan

19 January 2021-  2020 is destined to be an unforgettable year for most people. The outbreak of Covid-19 has undoubtedly changed our lives dramatically. In the Philippines, President Duterte, who has always promoted wider and deeper cooperation between China and the Philippines, is now barely one and a half years before his term expires and thus the political atmosphere of the Philippines may change significantly. This brings great uncertainty to the future of China-Philippines relations. In this context, it is especially necessary to summarize and review China-Philippines relations in the past few years.

Bilateral relations between China and the Philippines improved greatly during President Duterte’s term. Unfortunately, Filipinos’ trust in China over the past two years has continued to decline. Online gambling, undocumented laborers, South China Sea issues, etc., as many scholars have explored, have all had a profound impact on Filipinos’ perception of China. The Center for Philippine Studies of Jinan University analyzed the tone of more than 20,000 articles published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer between January 1 and August 31, 2020, and found that the tone of news coverage regarding China seemed more negative than articles that were not about China. Moreover, the more China-related the context/information in news coverage, the higher the chance that this coverage turns out to be negative. It is not my intention to discuss the specific issues between China and the Philippines, nor to deny the cognitive dissonance caused by cultural and national differences between China and the Philippines. These unique perspectives are understandable. I just wish to share with my Filipino friends a few tips on how to better understand Chinese behavior patterns.

First, there is a need to distinguish between individual behavior and government actions. I often feel ashamed of the bad behavior of some Chinese citizens abroad, but these kinds of bad behavior have also been criticized in China. Nevertheless, the rude behavior of Chinese tourists, or the illegal activities of some Chinese workers in the online gambling industry, should be taken at face value. It is difficult for the Chinese government to control these groups effectively because it has no excuse to restrict its citizens’ legal and regular international travel. Moreover, the Chinese government itself is a victim of these bad behaviors or illegal activities because of the damage done to its international image. Therefore, it will be helpful not to overanalyze or exaggerate individual Chinese behavior and speculate about the possible government intention behind it. As a newly rising country, China still needs time to educate its people. What we need is patience to educate Chinese citizens in the Philippines and guide them towards the observance of local laws.

Second, any analysis of China must be based on research rather than speculation. Unfortunately, I find that some comments on China published by some Philippine media often exaggerate and even distort the behavior and intention of China without clarifying the facts. In addition, many columnists are not experts in the relevant fields, and end up sowing discontent rather than providing in-depth analysis to help ordinary people understand complex international relations. Such comments may hurt China-Philippines relations! Taking myself as an example, I often write commentaries for Chinese media like The Global Times or do interviews for television programs to comment on China-Philippines relations, insofar as it is my research specialty. In some cases, some Chinese readers or audiences may think that I am defending the Philippines on some issues. Even so, I have repeatedly refused to give comments in the fields that I am not so familiar with because I do not wish to mislead the public.

Third, a good grasp of contemporary Chinese history will help one to understand China better. I think the best way to understand what is happening in Chinese society and what its government and people are thinking is to consider the experiences of China in the last century and a half, especially in relation to Western countries.

We need to encourage a wider and deeper level of people-to-people exchanges in different fields between China and the Philippines. Such exchanges will provide a stronger impetus to China-Philippines relations in the future!