Brief comment to the following article "World warms to China's peaceful rise":

It is clear from my previous essays on the subject, China's historical choice at this juncture is
World Harmony. For the sake of World Harmony China will follow a policy to encourage
domestic consumption to continue its current economic progress. This can potentially reduce
the trade imbalance and RMB exchange issues that is the contentious issues with some US
politically motivated officials. The current gloomy U.S. economy can just be the right
opportunity for China to increase domestic consumption.

The truth is that China's currency nor its trade surplus with the US, according to the article
"The misguided row over China's currency" in the current Foeign Affairs Journal, should be
the cause of disharmony. In fact China has trade deficit with many Asian countries. In the
end, according to David and Lyric Hale in the article "No matter how many sensible economic
reforms are implemented in Beijing, much of the burden for integrating China into the global
economy will fall on the international community. And this process will require more than
unilateral efforts by the United States to protect its own interests: it should be approached as a
multinational issue that will affect almost very nation on earth".

The present article ends by concluding "It is China's policy to never seek hegemony. We desire
a harmonious world. China's development contributes to world peace and stability".

Francis C W Fung, PH. D.

Director General
World Harmony Organization

World warms to China's peaceful rise

www.chinaview.cn 2008-01-26 11:31:20

BEIJING, Jan. 26 -- It is a media tradition to look back at what has happened in the past
year and how things will go in the year ahead. For Western media in general, a popular topic in
the recent year-ender and prediction season is China.
The Independent (daily newspaper) of Great Britain, for example, ran a series of articles
about China on its online edition earlier this month. The authors described China as the world's
newest superpower, the third largest economy in the world, the leading consumer society and
an engine of economic growth. They said China's contribution to the world economy surpassed
that of the US, that "Owned by China" will one day be as common as "Made in China" and that
China's culture of innovation will spread to the rest of the world, and so on.
The US-based bi-monthly Foreign Affairs carried in its January-February issue an article
titled "The Rise of China and the Future of the West", with a summary that begins by saying
"China's rise will inevitably bring the United States' unipolar moment to an end". And the author
(G John Ikenberry) lays out this view in the first paragraph: "The rise of China will undoubtedly
be one of the great dramas of the twenty-first century. China's extraordinary economic growth
and active diplomacy are already transforming East Asia, and future decades will see even
greater increases in Chinese power and influence." The author holds that America's "unipolar"
era is bound to expire, but the international system it heads is now more vital thanks to its
"openness" and "freedom". He says conflicts and war can be avoided by embracing China.
There are others with somewhat different views, including those who describe China as "rich
and poor" and "strong yet vulnerable superpower".
Taken in whole, the Western media's discussion of China this year really reflects a wide
range of opinions, some which are not as sentimentalized and morally conceited as we are
used to hearing. Instead, they are more focused on assessing China as it is in reality. Be it
praise or sneer, people are better off not reading too much into such babbling anyway. And by
saying so I include my fellow Chinese as well: just respond to comments by the foreign press
by saying: "So what?"
China is a reality and that is that. We do not soar or fall according to what others say. As
Chinese citizens we feel the progress our nation has made and the shortcomings it has, like a
fish knows if the water is warm or cold, and we know only too well that we will never reach the
top unless we keep climbing step by step.
In economics, the values of commodities are not always reflected by their prices because
prices are determined by the ever-changing relationship between supply and demand, but in
the end value matters. In a virtual economy the values and prices of commodities such as
stocks tend to vary by bigger margins and are affected more strongly by psychological factors.
For a nation its real value lies in the all-round quality of its citizenry, the development of its
society, the inherent vitality of its economy and its capability to make correct strategic
decisions. And those are what our efforts should be focused on.
Outsider's assessments of a country are reminiscent of a market analysis, which can
change in tone from ultra-high to super-low in a heartbeat. For those concerned it is best not to
think too much about what others say.
History is full of bloody lessons about overblown prices, such as what Japan experienced in
the 1980s, when the value of its currency rose to record highs and property prices sky-
rocketed. The economic bubble back then was so enormous that when it burst and people
realized the degree to which prices did not reflect values, the country's economy sank into a
coma for more than a decade. The same "money game" has taken its toll on other Asian
economies in the recent past.
People should think clearly when dealing with symbols, be they money or superlatives.
China is under similar pressure these days and we need to remind ourselves of what would
happen if we lost control.
China adopted the policy of reform and opening to the outside world 30 years ago. The
move symbolized the nation's desire to participate in the international system on its own free
will. It also means the suggestion by Western countries that "China should integrate itself into
the international system" is really too late. To a certain extent such talk by some Western
countries is a kind of self-psychotherapy.
In the past some Westerners refused to treat China as an equal member of the international
community or a partner in international cooperation. They saw China as one of "the others".
Now China's economy is growing more important to the world economy by the day, as it
contributes more to global growth and becomes more closely linked with other economies.
Some of the China-bashers have realized that their views about China no longer make sense
and that it is time to ditch them. Late or not, it counts as progress.
And amid the contemporary enthusiastic assessments of China there are also voices of
suspicion and even fear. It was a kind of law in the era of international power politics that the
emergence of a major power always required a redistribution of power and interests, which
inevitably led to war and drastic changes of the global status quo.
Today, against the backdrop of economic globalization, the game is played differently and
the rules have changed. In the theater of history, one day's tragedy is another day's comedy.
It is China's policy to never seek hegemony. We desire a harmonious world. China's
development contributes to world peace and stability.
The author is a council member of China Foundation of International Studies
(Source: China Daily)

Editor: Yao Siyan