--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To survive, China had to open up to the…" description: "\"To survive, China had to open up to the West. It could not survive otherwise. This was after many millions have died of hunger in a country that was li..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eba/ai-weiwei-824_agree_to-survive-china-had-to-open-up-to-the-w_2435892.png" --- # To survive, China had to open up to the West. It could not… ![“To survive, China had to open up to the West. It could not survive otherwise. This was after many millions have died of hunger in a country that was like North Korea is today. Once we became part of global competition, we had to agree to some rules. It's painful, but we had to. Otherwise there was…” quote by Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eba/ai-weiwei-824_agree_to-survive-china-had-to-open-up-to-the-w_2435892.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eba/ai-weiwei-824_agree_to-survive-china-had-to-open-up-to-the-w_2435892.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eba/ai-weiwei-824_agree_to-survive-china-had-to-open-up-to-the-w_2435892.png) > “To survive, China had to open up to the West. It could not survive otherwise. This was after many millions have died of hunger in a country that was like North Korea is today. Once we became part of global competition, we had to agree to some rules. It's painful, but we had to. Otherwise there was no way to survive.” [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. China opened to the West to avoid collapse, accepting painful global rules for survival. **In simple terms:** China needed Western trade to survive. Key Takeaway Embrace necessary change despite hardship. Themes economics politics survival globalization adaptation Mood reflective serious Type political historical When to use this quote - policy reform - international trade - national development - humanitarian crisis Key Concepts market liberalization state resilience historical necessity Questions to Reflect On - What compromises are acceptable for national survival? - How does global integration affect identity? A Different Perspective Opening may sacrifice cultural autonomy and cause inequality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agree/) [China](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/china/) [Competition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competition/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Died](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/died/) [Global Competition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/global-competition-339256/) [Hunger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunger/) [Korea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/korea/) [Millions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/millions/) [North korea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/north-korea/) [Painful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painful/) [Survive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survive/) [Survive China](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survive-china-339254/) [Survive Millions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survive-millions-339257/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/west/) [West Survive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/west-survive-339255/) ## Related quotes > [I think this planet is far stronger than we are. 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