Since the term "China's peaceful rise" was first introduced at
the 2003 annual session of Boao
Forum for Asia (BFA), it has become a hot topic drawing
international attention.
China's Peaceful Rise and New Role of Asia Roundtable, jointly
hosted by the China Reform Forum (CRF), the BFA and the Asia
Society, was held Friday in Boao, a seaside resort in southernmost
China's Hainan Province. The session offered experts from around
the world an opportunity to discuss the topic in depth.
Since the late 1970s the nation has sought a peaceful
international environment for self-development, said CRF Chairman
Zheng Bijian.
In the first half of the 21st century, the country expects to
face three fundamental challenges in the area of economic and
social growth: the shortage of resources especially energy;
deterioration of the ecosystem; and a series of issues stemming
from economic and social imbalances, Zheng said.
These challenges have all contributed to a bottleneck in the
nation's sustainable development. Zheng stated that China should
blaze a new path of industrialization characterized by
high-technology input, economic efficiency, low consumption of
resources and low environmental pollution. It should continue to
participate in economic globalization and build a harmonious
society.
Appearing in the context of rapid economic growth, the strategic
concept's gist is to make China's economy interdependent with its
neighbors, rather than eclipsing them. "We will neither seek
hegemony nor claim hegemony," he said.
An important result of China's peaceful rise, and a fundamental
strategic choice for the country's modernization drive, is the
emergence of a huge market with a population of 1.3 billion.
"Therefore, what China's peaceful rise will mean to Asia and the
world is opportunities rather than threat," he said.
China demonstrates today a new way to rise on the world stage,
said Jerome Monod, chief political advisor to French President
Jacques Chirac. It may materialize through active participation in
economic globalization, competition with others in the world market
and recognition of a world system that is mutually beneficial to
all.
He said the European Union's rise has taken a route similar to
China's, and the two today are highly economically complementary
and share many common views. These include the importance of
multilateral policies and a stronger role for the United Nations in
regional and global conflict resolution and in the coordination of
actions addressing global concerns.
At the same time, he mentioned in particular two obstacles that
need to be overcome in China's development. First, China will be
facing the challenge of a rapidly aging society, like Japan, South
Korea and Europe, with the trend hitting full force in the 2020s.
Second, China's quest for energy resources and its subsequent
involvement in conflict-prone regions such as Central Asia and Iran
may create tensions with power blocs like the United States and
Japan.
China's peaceful rise must also entail a fundamental
restructuring of Asia's geopolitical landscape, said Pei Minxin,
senior associate and director of the China Program at the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace.
Currently, Asia's geopolitical situation remains the most
dynamic, complex and fluid in the world. Along with China's
peaceful rise, regional multilateralism will logically lead to a
new Asian community, which is to be based on equality, collective
security and open trade, said Pei.
(China.org.cn by staff reporter Shao Da, April 22, 2005)