"China's rise" has been the most frequently-used phrase in international relations over the past decade, according to foreign statistics.

The term, which is more often called "China's peaceful development" by Chinese, was first coined by foreign countries in response to the country's continuous and speedy economic growth and the rise of its national strength since the reform and opening-up policy began in 1978. Its creation mainly reflected Western unease about China's rapid development.

Coinciding with "China's rise" is an accelerated multi-polarization in international relations, reflected by the formation of the G20 summit as a regular venue to discuss and tackle the world's major economic affairs and map out global economic development. As the world's sole superpower and long opposed to the polarization of world power, the United States has to accept the emerging trend, as Washington remains increasingly incapable of resolving thorny international and regional matters. Some have claimed the era of non-polarization is coming. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has advocated the 21st century should not be a multi-polar but a multi-partner world.

It is expected that the momentum of China's rise and the world's multi-polarization will continue into the next decade, making the beginning of the 2010s a crucial period. As far as China is concerned, the coming three years are key to deciding whether the country can succeed in attaining a variety of encouraging targets set by the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), held in 2007. The goals range from realizing much-needed scientific development to building a harmonious society and an environmentally-friendly and resource-conservative economy, from transforming the long-controversial extensive economic development model to advancing the construction of the democratic and legal system, from opposing "Taiwan independence" and pursuing the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations to setting up a well-off society in an all-round way by the year 2020.

China's development so far indicates that the country still faces an extremely arduous task if it wants to make substantial progress in these areas prior to the 18th National Congress of the CPC due in 2012. The country is expected to encounter a series of challenges in adjusting its economic structure, fighting corruption, handling sensitive religious and ethnic issues, as well as consolidating and developing the positive momentum in cross-Straits relations.

Domestic stability in the world's most populous country will be a tremendous contribution to the construction of a harmonious world. It will also help the country boost its national strength and undertake more international responsibilities.

After decades of rapid growth, China should phase out its long-standing quantity-preoccupied economic expansion and turn to a quality-oriented developmental stage, a higher goal set by the 17th CPC Congress. In the new stage, what the country should attach more importance to is its development quality and sustainability rather than quantity and speed alone. Also, it should make more effort to strike a balance between national interests and its deserved international responsibilities.

As far as the world's political landscape is concerned, multi-polarization is also expected to maintain its robust momentum into the early 2010s, which will offer the world both opportunities and challenges. Undoubtedly, a polarized world will help put a dent in hegemony and promote democratization of international relations and frame a new international political and economic order. However, polarization is also likely to bring about and intensify friction and conflict between traditional and emerging powers. The collapse of the world's established order is also expected to give rise to and escalate disputes and friction between those geographically adjacent emerging powers.

To smoothly facilitate its peaceful development, China should brace for difficulties and challenges at home and abroad over the coming three years as its clout keeps expanding on the international stage.

Despite brewing uncertainties, polarization is not expected to cause uncontrollable chaos in the international landscape. The wide divergence between the world's powers in the scope of traditional security in the era of polarization will not change their pursuit of deepened cooperation in the face of non-traditional threats, such as the global financial crisis, energy shortage, climate change, terrorism, nuclear proliferation and the spread of epidemics.

As China's policies of peaceful development become crystal clear, more and more countries are realizing that China has embarked on a different development path from other emerging powers in history. It would be more obvious that its rise will promote world peace and prosperity instead of bringing about war and coercion. Also, the world's polarization, as an irreversible trend, will produce both opportunities and challenges for countries around the world and they should try to convert its negative effects to positive ones.