History can repeat itself in a constructive way in trade dispute

I expected a leadership training session in Yan'an, Shaanxi province, to be a welcome break from Sino-US trade friction stories. However, I ended up delving deeper into the issue, albeit from a historical point of view.

Yan'an, 300 kilometers from Xi'an, the provincial capital of Shaanxi, is a sacred place for Chinese for two reasons - it is home to the mausoleum of the Huangdi emperor, regarded as the common ancestor of all Chinese, and it served as the headquarters of the Communist Party of China led by Mao Zedong for 13 years before the CPC military forces defeated the Kuomintang regime and founded New China in 1949.

With 160 historical sites, this small, legendary town is like an extended museum offering thousands of visitors food for thought. Yan'an is a must-go destination for leadership training. Its unique advantages are the open classrooms, very often under the big tree in front of the humble cave houses where Chairman Mao and other top CPC leaders worked.