CHAPTER 1
THE PROPOSAL OF PEACEFUL DEVELOPMENT AND A HARMONIOUS WORLD
With the end of the Cold War, peace and development have become the major themesof our time, and the international situation has begun to assume certaincharacteristics inclining toward stability and moderation. The collapse ofbipolar structure and the termination of antagonism between capitalism andsocialism have brought a fundamental change to the once intense internationalrelationship; the menace of easily provoked wars does not exist anymore, and thepossibility of direct clashes between major powers is prominently diminished.Instead of fierce confrontation, relationships between countries take the newform of peace and cooperation; furthermore, the aspiration for cooperationbetween countries has, generally speaking, never been stronger; problems causedby war far outweigh benefits from it; and the cost for major powers tomaterialize their national interests through war is accelerating. Thus, eachcountry is pressing for a peaceful and stable international environment for itseconomic development.
The accelerating economic globalization affords every country a preciousopportunity to develop its economy. Establishment of the worldwide unifiedmarket enormously boosts free transnational movement of products, capital,services, and workforce and makes global distribution of resources possible.World trade has achieved unprecedented development, and the world economy keepsopening up. Meanwhile, the international division of labor in commodityproduction is becoming more complex, and the number of multinationalcorporations is growing rapidly. The development of communication andinformation technology is strengthening the political and economic relationshipsbetween countries and expanding exchanges between cultures and societies. Thissituation has resulted in much closer contacts between countries in the aspectsof production, trade, and other sectors, as well as greater interdependence andmore prominent mutual sensitivity and vulnerability. The interests of differentcountries are interwoven, and the growing joint international interests havecurbed the clash of interests between countries. Owing to this, seeking economiccooperation and maintaining common interests have become the major aspects ofinterstate relations, taking the place of conflict and confrontation. And thecompetition over comprehensive national strength rooted in economy, science, andtechnology has become the major competition mode between countries, substitutingfor arms races.
What's more, with the development of globalization, the world is confronted withever more prominent global issues in regard to environment and ecology, AIDS,and so on posing serious threats to the survival and development of humanbeings. Thus, economic globalization not only affords each country the preciousopportunity for economic development but also calls for more cooperation betweencountries. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, peace and developmentas the era's theme are gaining more prominence. The international and regionalregimes for politics, economy, and security have become a significant force inmaintaining international peace and promoting development. As the largestintergovernmental organization, the United Nations has been actively engaged inresolving international crises, tackling global issues, and aiding developingcountries. Through advanced mechanisms such as a single currency and commonforeign and security policies, the European Union (EU) has become the mosthighly integrated regional organization, whose peaceful development mode sets anexcellent example for the subsequently rising major powers or groups of nations.Another important impetus behind regional peace and development is the variousregional organizations such as Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), theNorth American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Association of Southeast AsianNations (ASEAN), the African Union (AU), and especially the Shanghai CooperationOrganization, ASEAN "10 + 3," and ASEAN Regional Forum, in whose establishmentand improvement China has played a proactive role. Contributing to theprosperity and stability of Asia and to a favorable environment for China'seconomic development, these international and regional regimes are "an importantplatform for the rise of China." It is against this general background that theconception of peaceful development and a harmonious world gradually took shapein China.
This conception completely overthrows the thinking of colonial expansion andhegemony in modern history and remains an inevitable choice that fits thecurrent international value system. In modern history, even up to the end ofWorld War II, and in an international system where the law of the jungleprevailed, colonial expansion and wars were legitimate policy instruments forstates to accumulate wealth or achieve diplomatic goals. This sent those eager-to-risemajor powers on the track of wars for hegemony. However, in our worldtoday, fundamental changes have taken place in the international value system,and only peaceful approaches can be employed, for the rise of the major powersand their legitimacy can be achieved only through the construction of a peacefulnational image. Thus, China's conception of peaceful development and aharmonious world remains what this era of peace and development calls for andaccords with the value principle of the present world.
As far as the security environment and world public opinion are concerned, Chinafinds itself in a much improved international and regional security environmentsince the end of the Cold War, especially at the present stage, which ensuresthe essential conditions for the peaceful development of China. First, therelationship between China and the major powers maintains a sound momentum ofdevelopment. Through the establishment of partnerships, multilevelcommunication, and cooperation mechanisms, effective channels have been openedup for prompt communication and closer cooperation with those powers in allaspects. For example, China is sharing more and more joint interests with theUnited States, the hegemonic power in the present international system. Sincethe 9/11 incident, cooperation between China and the United States keepsexpanding; in addition, the United States has long been concentrating on majorinternational security issues, such as antiterrorism and nuclearnonproliferation. As Professor Shi Yinhong wrote in 2006, "it's possible thatthe U.S. will not take China as its standard rival or major rival in quite along time." The combination of these two factors results in a comparativelyrelaxed space for China's development. Second, China and its neighboringcountries are vigorously developing a relationship between good neighbors andfriends. Through the resolution of boundary issues with most of its neighboringcountries and under the guideline of "shelving differences and seeking jointdevelopment," China has effectively reduced conflicts and friction with itsneighbors; as it is largely engaged in regional economy and security regimes,China has made great contribution to regional development, thus earning moreapproval from its neighboring countries and expanding economic and securitycooperation with them. This favorable cooperative atmosphere is undoubtedlyconducive to the peaceful development of China. Finally, China finds itself in abetter public opinion environment. This is because more and more countries areregarding the development of China as an opportunity rather than a challenge, asChina bears an increasing amount of international and regional responsibilitywith continuous development of its economy. For example, as the engine ofregional and even world economic development, China has leaped to the frontranks of the world in regard to its contribution to the increase of the world'sgross domestic product (GDP). Another example is that China's constructivecontribution to major international issues, such as the nuclear issue of theDemocratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and antiterrorism, is winning moreapproval from the international community.
However, we should also be aware that unfavorable elements still exist in theinternational environment, and the world is not tranquil. For example, inpresent international politics, hegemonism still remains a major threat to worldpeace. Especially after the 9/11 incident, there is a stronger tendency towardunilateralism and power politics in the name of antiterrorism on the part of theUnited States to make global deployments for its strategic interests. Meanwhile,some countries still cling to a Cold War mentality and maintain and consolidatetheir respective military alliances, which adversely impact regional andinternational peace and stability. What's more, international security isconfronted with severe challenges, and the end of the Cold War highlights ethnicconflicts, religious clashes, and territorial disputes. Hot regional issues keepspringing up, while local wars and violent conflicts frequently break out. Inaddition, there is a growing threat caused by unconventional security problemssuch as terrorism, transnational crime, proliferation of weapons of massdestruction, and so on. Global issues in other fields also demand urgentsolutions and pose threats to the world's peace and stability. These globalissues include environmental deterioration, shortages of resources, povertyissues, rampant piracy, financial crisis, information security, infectiousdiseases, natural disasters, and so on. Obviously, the numerous inharmoniousnotes in this generally harmonious international environment constitute theactual basis for China's conception of peaceful development and a harmoniousworld, a reaction to the inharmonious world after the Cold War.
Due to these unfavorable factors, the development of China is confronted withpressing interference from the international environment. First, China's rapidlygrowing overall national strength puts some Western countries and neighboringcountries into a panic, which accounts for the long-held arguments of a "Chinathreat." These threat arguments are mainly about how China's rapid economicdevelopment would lead to its greater military strength and strong ambition forinvasion, which would in turn make China inclined to achieving its goals throughinvasion or the use of military force. To put it more specifically, the UnitedStates, the hegemonic state, is concerned that China would overthrow the presentinternational system for hegemony, while the concern from neighboring countriesis that China would possibly solve territorial disputes by resorting to armedforce. What's more, some of the countries holding the view of a China threatperceive that China's economic development will disturb other countries'economies, since China's economic development would give rise to price hikes anda scarcity of resources such as energy, food, minerals, and other materials.Even worse, China has become a big socialist country, and its unique developmentmode poses a challenge to the widely accepted American mode. In this sense, inspite of some improvement, the world's public opinion still remains unfavorableto China, which imposes great pressure on China's development.
Second, the complicated surrounding geographical environment has to some extenta negative impact on China's peaceful development. China is surrounded bynumerous countries, some of which are large, and there are numerous prominenthot issues. The continuously strengthening U.S.-Japan military alliance adds toChina's geographical pressure and also makes the Taiwan problem even moredifficult to cope with. Because of this, the Taiwan problem is becoming moreexplosive and China's reunification more difficult, which has created a bigobstacle on China's road to development and greater prosperity. Other than this,the boundary and territorial disputes between China and some of its neighboringcountries remain unsettled; the India-Pakistan conflict and the DPRK's nuclearcrisis might break out easily. These are all latent dangers in the way ofChina's development and might impair the stable surrounding environment of Chinaat any time.
Finally, the destructive force of global issues cannot be ignored. These globalissues include rampant ethnic separatist activities, the deterioratedenvironment, financial crisis, infectious diseases, and so on. Under certainconditions, the destructive force of these issues might easily break out,restraining China's peaceful development.
To sum up, the present international situation is generally favorable, withpeace and development as the theme of the era, but global issues still hold aprominent position and a security threat still exists. It is against thisbackground that China put forward the conception of peaceful development and aharmonious world.
Inherent Dynamics for the Conception of Peaceful Development and a HarmoniousWorld
In regard to domestic conditions, the primary dynamic behind the conception ofpeaceful development and a harmonious world is China's need for a peaceful andstable international environment for its rapid economic development. Rapidgrowth of overall national strength reinforces the material basis, which allowsChina to seek wider international and regional impact and a more significantrole on the international stage. Consequently, China has become more aware ofits international status as a major power and more eager to shoulderinternational responsibility and make a contribution that is in line with thisstatus. On the other hand, the tremendous benefit and advantage brought forth byChina's rapid development affirms its strong faith in maintaining a peaceful andstable environment for development and in seeking peaceful development.
Since the reform and opening up, an economic miracle rarely seen in humanhistory has taken place in China. According to statistics, from 1978 to 2007,China's GDP has increased from ¥364.5 billion to ¥24.95 trillion, with anaverage annual growth rate of 9.8 percent, three times more than that of theworld economy over the same period. China's economic aggregate ranked fourth inthe world. By the end of 2010, China's economic aggregate overtook that ofGermany and Japan, ranking second in the world. Meanwhile, by the end of 2010,China's total export-import volume had leaped to number one in the world. Sincetaking the place of Japan as the largest country by foreign exchange reserve,China is still enjoying an upward trend in its foreign exchange reserve, hitting$2 trillion. Apart from this, China has ranked first in the output of majorindustrial products such as crude steel, raw coal, cement, chemical fertilizer,mobile phones, and computers, becoming the genuine workshop of the world.
Since 2008, in spite of the financial crisis, the severe deterioration of theworld economic environment, and their negative impact on China's economy, Chinastill managed to sustain a comparatively high economic development rate. In2009, China's GDP reached ¥33.5 trillion, increasing by 8.7 percent comparedwith that of 2008; while China's export-import volume reached $2.2 trillion, aremarkable economic achievement considering the interference of financialcrisis, though a small decrease compared with that of other major countries andregions.
However, China's economic development does not aim at the blind pursuit ofquantity. Based on more than 30 years of experience in economic development,China put forward the general idea of a scientific outlook on development,endeavoring to transform its economic growth mode. Thus, over recent years,while encouraging economic development, China has been attaching more importanceto environmental and ecological protection. In addition, China's central financehas been allocating more capital for major projects targeting energy saving andenvironmental protection. What's more, through eliminating outdated productioncapacities, restricting the development of industries that are high in energyconsumption and carbon dioxide emissions, and optimizing the energy structure,the Chinese government is taking substantial actions to protect the environmentand ecology. China's stronger sense of responsibility is fully revealed in itsenergy conservation and pollution reduction target of cutting energy consumptionper unit of GDP by 20 percent from 2005 to 2010.
