By Lau Nai-keung

 

In their end-of-year reviews, many international media outlets have highlighted China's spectacular achievements in international relations in 2006. Make no mistake, this sleeping giant has awakened from its centuries-long slumber. China is everywhere. In my memory, never has the leadership of a country spent so much time abroad and achieved so much in such a short time. Other world leaders are now beating a path to China. Nearly half the leaders of the world's 192 countries have visited China this year. In addition, the nation has hosted three major summits and a world-class fair. And Dr. Chan-Fung Fu Chun became the first Chinese to head a UN agency, the powerful WHO. When Shinzo Abe became prime minister of Japan earlier this year, one of the very first things he did was to arrange a visit to China to mend fences. And China has seized this opportunity to reverse the frosty relations with its neighbor.

 

During the November APEC meeting in Hanoi, US President George W. Bush met Chinese President Hu Jintao. This followed recent discussions between US think-tanks as to whether the US should amicably relinquish its stabilizing role in Asia to China, because clearly it cannot do a better job, and it cannot check China's growing influence in this part of the world. Strategically, the US needs China's assistance in its fight against terrorism, and in solving the problems on the Korean Peninsula and Iran. Economically, the US needs China to support it beyond its mean consumption and the falling US dollar.

 

Like it or not, the days of China bashing are clearly over and have been substituted by strategic dialogue. In the December session of the Sino-US strategic dialogue in Beijing, one-third of the US cabinet flew over to attend a clear indication of China's strategic importance in the eyes of the US government.

 

As a world power, China's vision is necessarily global, and it does not pay undue attention to any one country. It has consolidated its strategic partnership with Russia, and the Shanghai Cooperative Organization is going strong. Its relations with the EU have been improving with ever increasing trade, investment and international cooperation in widening areas. The "Asean+1" free trade agreements have been materializing, and there has been actual preparation of an Asian currency.

 

China's relations with the South Asian subcontinent have never been better, and guidelines for resolving border disputes are taking shape after President Hu's visit to India. A new term, "Chindia" has been coined, signaling closer ties between these two populous countries. Its ties with countries in Central Asia and the Middle East have also been bolstered.

 

Needless to say, after a recent summit in Beijing, Sino-African solidarity has been further solidified.

 

The fact is, this administration under President Hu no longer tries to hide China's growing economic weight in global affairs and the role it will have to play in order to sustain growth. China is now the fourth largest economy in the world and is still enjoying near double-digit growth year after year. Its foreign exchange reserve has grown to the world's biggest since February 2006, reaching a record US$1 trillion in November. To nourish this huge economic engine, China has to import an ever increasing amount of resources from different parts of the world. Not least on China's long shopping list is oil and natural gas, which China must import at a rate of nearly half of what it consumes. At the same time, as China enters the sixth year of its World Trade Organization membership, it is obliged to open up its market, putting out a call to the international business world to converge on this lucrative market.

 

Many say that China is one of the very few winners from the recent round of globalization. Be that as it may, China is now an integral part of the game, and the activities of both its government and people are bound to be more international. China has thus become an active and important player in the global community.

 

In line with economic development, it is essential for China to strive for a more stable and peaceful international environment. Diplomacy with the objective of countering international terrorism and its link to secessionist movements within the country, preventing nuclear proliferation, and reducing the frantic arms race among neighboring countries is also in order.

 

All in all, China's motivation for a more prominent role in the international arena is not hegemonic; it has never been a hegemony throughout history, and it has openly and repeatedly vowed never to be one in the future. All it wants is, first of all, to be left alone to concentrate on the nation-building task at hand.

 

Ultimately, China has made it clear that it wants to build a harmonious world. Unlike the confrontational approach of the West, its tradition leads China to think that this world is big enough for everybody, but it is too small for us to fight each other. For example, if the rich countries spent a little less on armaments, and instead concentrated on providing aid to the poor developing countries, world peace would have a much better chance.

 

The ultimate manifestation of harmony is built on diversity, not on monoculture. It is also built on a balance between competition and symbiosis.

 

In time, China will have a lot more say in formulating the rules of international conduct in the 21st century. Hopefully, the "harmonious world" ideal will be yet another Chinese contribution to the global legacy, and a better world order.

 

(China Daily December 30, 2006)