Peaceful development requires fearlessness
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E-mail Global Times, October 25, 2010
It has been 60 years since the Chinese People's Volunteers marched across the Yalu River, confronted the advancing US-led troops, which had swept across most of the Korean Peninsula, and ended the Korean War in a stalemate.
In retrospect, China's involvement was thought unlikely at that juncture. The Korean War seemed to be too costly to fight, especially when facing the US, given that the impoverished country could barely take a breath after two consecutive bloody wars.
China made a difficult decision in the face of heavy casualties and economic losses.
However, not fighting the war was not an option as Douglas MacArthur stubbornly dismissed China's warnings and positioned troops along Sino- Korean border. He delivered a clear message about which communist government was next on the list that the US planned to topple.
Every Chinese citizen today is a beneficiary of that decision, because without a war that elevated China comparable to Western might, China may not have derived so much international respect and prestige. It successfully improved its previously thought of gloomy geopolitical position. It was seen as infirm, feeble and impotent. China also won the great prize of peace.
Today, China enjoys a much more favorable status than it did 60 years ago. Warfare is no longer an unavoidable option in many regional settlements. The longstanding pursuit for a peaceful and humane world further reduces the possibility of a war between major powers.
However, this does not mean China can diminish its fortitude that once helped it survive Western animosity.
China, along with other emerging countries, will shift the global political balance. But the process must feature contention and clamor. The country has been targeted by Western politicians as a currency manipulator, it has been subject to trade disputes, and it has to face multi-faceted challenges due to essential differences in cultural and ideological patterns. The nature of international relations leads to the inevitability of all of these, and thus China must be well-prepared.
If China desires a global environment that allows its sustainable development and peaceful rise, an unwavering adherence to its own principles and national interests are the prerequisites.
The solidarity and fortitude shown during the Korean War is helping China achieve a lasting peaceful environment for its development. It also illustrates to some aggressive Western countries that military threats and intimidation are no longer effective.
China's sturdy and explicit determination will thwart any ambition to restrain China's growth, and ensure regional security.
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