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Top policymaker defends Beijing’s
‘peaceful’ rise
IN THE SAME BOAT:Dai Bingguo urged the world to work with
China, which he said respected human rights, but he warned that it would not be
bullied
AFP, BEIJING
China yesterday defended its rising global status, saying countries should view
themselves as “passengers in the same boat” and not fear Beijing’s “peaceful”
economic and political development.
In a two-page commentary carried by the English-language China Daily, State
Councilor Dai Bingguo (戴秉國), the country’s most senior foreign policymaker,
urged the world to work with China — but warned it would not be bullied.
China respected human rights, Dai wrote in the article, which comes just days
after the Nobel committee held a ceremony in honor of peace laureate Liu Xiaobo
(劉曉波), a jailed rights advocate.
“Countries should consider themselves passengers in the same boat and cross the
river peacefully together instead of fighting one another and trying to push one
another off the boat,” Dai said.
“Those selfish practices of conquering or threatening others by force, or
seeking development space and resources by non-peaceful means are losing
ground,” Dai said.
“It has also become very unpopular for some countries to identify friends and
foes on the basis of ideology and gang up under various pretexts in quest of
dominance of world affairs,” he wrote.
He, however, cautioned: “We respect others, but do not allow others to bully
us.”
Dai’s commentary came amid growing international concern at China’s global rise,
especially in regard to territorial disputes in adjacent waters and Beijing’s
refusal to condemn the provocative behavior of close ally North Korea.
Beijing has also robustly defended its trade and currency policies, despite a
flurry of spats with trading partners and ongoing pressure for it to allow the
yuan to trade more freely.
“The international community should welcome China’s peaceful development rather
than fear it, help rather than hinder it and support rather than constrain its
effort,” Dai said.
“The international community should understand and respect China’s legitimate
interests and concerns in the course of its peaceful development,” he said.
China cannot isolate itself from the world, nor can the world achieve peace and
prosperity without China, he said.
“Some people in the world have the unnecessary worry that China will turn its
growing economic power into military might,” Dai acknowledged, but “China
pursues a defense policy that is defensive in nature ... it is neither driven by
arms race nor the desire to seek hegemony or expansion.”
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