Action speaks louder than words. As time goes on, people are beginning to see China's rise as more of a benign giant panda instead of a frightening dragon.

The rise of a big power always causes worries and tension -- be it necessary or unnecessary -- especially in the hearts of those who view the rising power with hostility.

When it comes to China, which has the world's largest population and military force, it has become a little too easy for observers to point an accusing finger while chanting the "China Threat" theory, which has recently been revived in some countries, including the United States, Japan and India.

They say China's military strength is growing fast, a statement that has been echoed in both Japanese and Indian media report. Some scholars have gone as far as saying that China has become one of the world's most powerful countries, second only to the United States.

So, what's the real situation in China?

China's modern history is one of repeated humiliations at the hands of foreign powers: memories of the destruction wrought by the eight country alliance sent by the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Russia, Japan, Italy, and Austria to quell the Boxer uprising still linger. They robbed China, while the country was under the rule of the declining Qing Dynasty, of countless national treasures and burned down the old Summer Palace in northwestern Beijing. And later, during the Second World War, Japanese militarists committed atrocious anti-human crimes including the Nanjing Massacre, which took the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent Chinese people.

But the lessons carried by modern history have taught the Chinese people they would continue to be bullied if the nation was not equal in strength to foreign powers. They also learned how important peace and stability are from the horror of the country's many years of civil strife and the Cultural Revolution. They long to see a powerful China, as they no longer want to be bullied. But within the country's profound desire for strength, lies an even deeper wish for peace.

Thanks to rapid economic development over the past two decades, the Chinese people are starting to enjoy a better life: more often than not people have enough to eat, nice clothes to wear, and color TVs to watch…and exactly at the same time when things began to improve, people began to catch wind of the “China Threat” theory. So, China's rise is a threat? Does that indicate that Chinese people should return to poverty so they won't endanger the world? But aren't they entitled to a better life? Aren't all human beings born equal in dignity and rights as is stated in Article One of the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights?

On the contrary, China's dazzling economic growth has become the principle engine driving Asian economies by almost indiscriminately sucking in products and raw materials from Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia. Last year, exports to China accounted for 32 percent of Japan's total increase in exports, 36 percent of South Korea's export growth, and a staggering 68 percent of Taiwan's.

It's undeniable that China's military power is growing. However, the fact is that China's military technology and capability are at least two decades behind that of the United States, according to the analysis of the Council on Foreign Relations Independent Task Force on Chinese Military. While the country's conventional forces are large, they are characterized by poor training and low technology, certainly nothing equivalent to the high-tech warfare demonstrated by the United States in Iraq.

China's limited military development has been prompted by the desire for the nation's final reunification with the island province of Taiwan, whose leaders are making every effort to gain independence. The issue of Taiwan has been a legacy of Chinese history that has continually involved foreign powers intervening in the country's internal affairs, spurring the prolongation of national pain from civil war. There's nothing wrong with Chinese people's desire to unify their country. After all, China hasn't been chasing ghosts that aren't there as has clearly occurred in the US-led invasion of Iraq.

The Chinese government is instead using peace as its main strategy, and aims to work for peace and stability in Asia and, if possible, the whole world. It has taken the lead role in addressing the North Korean nuclear issue by working strenuously to bring the six related countries to the negotiation table. China has signed a peace treaty with ASEAN countries, pledging to resolve all of their disputes through peaceful means and never going to war.

At the just-concluded Boao Forum for Asia, Chinese President Hu Jintao urged for cooperation among countries in the region on the basis of mutual benefit, mutual assistance and complementary functions, and advocated the development of an Asian economic free trade zone, a key step to integrating Asian countries into a harmonious and peaceful community.

Action speaks louder than words. As time goes on, people are beginning to see China's rise as more of a benign giant panda instead of frightening dragon. But some individuals will continue to view China as a threat well into the future. Even if the country grows peacefully, observers will still find faults and attempt to deconstruct China's new image and repaint it in a negative way.

Going hand in hand with the “China Threat” theory has been the “China Collapse” theory, which says China's economy will shatter and the country will sink into chaos in a few years' time. Few people have, however, paid attention to the claim.

This reminds me of the old Chinese saying "Qi Ren You Tian" -- a man in the State of Qi feared the sky might fall one day. And he died of being haunted with imaginary fears.

(Xinhua News Agency May 8, 2004)