Chinese leaders often assert the need to foster win-win solutions when promoting domestic and international policymaking, including policies related to trade. Some critics, especially those who normalize zero-sum approaches, reject win-win as wishful thinking. So let’s consider here why win-win is so prominent in contemporary Chinese thinking and some of the ways it can be realized in theory and practice.
Historical roots
To begin, win-win is a familiar English term, but it’s also found in many different linguistic traditions. In Arabic, for example, it’s wade muthmir liljamiei, which translates as “a fruitful situation for all.” In Chinese, it’s gongying, which translates literally as gong, “common” or “communal,” and ying, “win.”
In fact, the idea of mutually winning is so common in is similar to , which also translates as win-win, but the latter indicating a two-person or party exchange, one that’s commonly used to describe a mutually profitable business relationship. Both terms contrast with , which translates as “lose-lose,” and , “self-interest at the expense of others.”
