简体中文
China's top diplomat Wang Yi answered a long list of tough questions ranging from China-U.S. relations to China-Japan relations on Sunday. The questions themselves are a testimony to worries about China's growing clout and possible confrontation with key global players.
China is on its journey to steady economic growth and a moderately prosperous society. Some observers demonize its phenomenal success. Should they consider changing their mind, they may have a change of heart and observe China's development from a different perspective.
The world is in need of market demand to sustain job creation, a common concern for all countries. With an expanding middle class, the slowing but open Chinese economy provides growth momentum to foreign companies. More than 70 percent of U.S. organizations operating in China identified themselves as "profitable" or "very profitable" last year, according to a survey from the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) China.
As the world's second largest economy, the leading recipient of foreign direct investment and the biggest trade partner for more than 120 countries and regions, China has clearly emerged as a stabilizing force in the global economy, accounting for more than a third of total global economic growth over the past five years.
China has growing pains such as smog, water pollution and overcapacity in some sectors. While the country is learning to tackle them through trial and error, one can't expect them to go away overnight.
As a major infrastructure equipment exporter, China also pools effort to provide badly-needed funds to infrastructure construction, a hindrance to many countries' development. BRICS countries alone have about 1 trillion U.S. dollars each year in infrastructure needs, according to World Bank's calculations. Such funding gaps also exist elsewhere. Foreign assistance is a tiny piece of it and they have to rely on their own resources.
The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road proposed by China in 2013 for collaboration between countries in Asia, Europe and Africa are a testament to their joint efforts of overcoming funding shortages and improving infrastructure connectivity.
The "Belt and Road" initiatives are referred to as another Marshall Plan by some, but they should not be viewed in the outdated Cold War mentality. It is not China's "solo," but a "symphony" performed by all relevant countries, borrowing a metaphor used by Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
China is a constructive force in building international order. Without a doubt, the current international order needs to be updated. But it is not about overturning it or starting all over again. The China-proposed Silk Road Fund, together with BRICS Development Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, can play a complementary, not contradictory, role to existing global financial institutions.
China, the United States and other major economies can and should deepen strategic trust. They should not magnify differences through a microscope but instead use a telescope to look ahead to the future, as the future of the world will be shaped by how they engage with each other and build a relationship centering on shared interests.
Key global players need China's full participation in coping with thorny challenges like terrorism, climate change, cyber security, among others.
The vast Pacific Ocean has ample space for China, the United States and other economies. China aims to expand interests with partners in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, not seek world hegemony. As many China observers would be quick to embrace a panda, they may also try embracing the country's peaceful development.
