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China envisions win-win community of human destiny
By Huang Xin |
November 16, 2012, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
CONSIDER this hypothetical situation. Some Chinese are discussing how to do business in a win-win manner, and they decide that if one of them makes money by running a gas station, another will open a restaurant next door, and a third will open an adjoining supermarket. In this way, each can grow with the help of the others.
This way of doing business may seem the stuff of fancy, but it reflects the rational order in the eyes of contemporary Chinese. It was also reflected in political report to the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which closed on Wednesday. The report advocated a community sense of human destiny that would bring the interests of different nations together.
Fault lines
The post-industrial era witnessed a world in which the weak were the prey of the strong. A new international order was established after World War II with the founding of the United Nations. For over six decades, the international community has endeavored to create a more balanced, just and rational political and economic situation. Unfortunately, with the manipulation of great powers, there are still fault lines kept open by regional unrest or even local warfare, in which the innocent have lost their lives.
The rise of China has been a recent phenomenon in the 21st century. Although China has stressed that it is a well-intentioned latecomer, it still unnerves the defending superpowers. Apparently, the world has not simply become flat because of economic globalization. Behind international relations are conflicts of different ideologies and interests.
During the past three decades of reform, the country has accumulated considerable material wealth to become the largest exporter and the second-largest importer in the world. The impressive progress, however, is used by some people to rail against China.
For instance, "Made in China," or Chinese manufacturing, has faced various trade barriers.
In addition to solar photovoltaic units, one of the most recent examples are products of China's Huawei Technologies and ZTE. A report issued last month by the US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee advised US companies to avoid buying equipment from the two Chinese companies since they were suspected of utilizing their market access for possible spying in the US.
Other charges include currency manipulation, foreign intellectual property theft and job-stealing. Such "misunderstandings" are deeply rooted in the zero-sum Cold War mentality.
Those who refuse to abandon such thinking often purposely overlook the fact that a rising China brings fortune and opportunities to the entire world, though it has deficiencies.
Around the world, one may find that the Chinese are carrying oxygen to the choking global economy: throngs of Chinese real estate investors have landed in the US for buying tours; in the European heartland, Chinese multinationals like create jobs; the number of Chinese studying overseas topped the world by approaching 340,000 in 2011, boosting local educational industries.
The report to the 18th National Congress of the CPC proposed the concept of "beautiful China" that indicates a more prominent position of ecological progress in the country's overall development plan. That will contribute to alleviating the increasing pressures of this resource-starved planet.
Besides, the report says the Party aims to double the per capita income for both urban and rural residents by 2020.
If the plan works, Chinese people will have a better life and China will become both a stronger purchasing power and a larger consumer.
Socialist market
The achievements China has made so far, to a great extent, should be attributed to the socialist market system. Bsides material wealth, the unique path of "socialism with Chinese characteristics" may offer some lessons for human beings as people can learn through comparisons of different modes.
Nobel Prize-winning American economist Paul Samuelson pointed out in his bulky textbook Economics (17th edition, co-authored by William Nordhaus) that a private market mechanism with only a limited role played by the government cannot resolve problems concerning the interests of the majority in society.
The Party congress report outlined an ideal society for Chinese people and the world at large. It looks quite similar to the ideal society Western sages envisioned: productive, civilized, prosperous and harmonious.
China's pursuit of the right objectives is not only important for itself but for the whole world, said Pieter P. Bottelier, a senior associate professor of China studies at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, in a recent interview with Xinhua.
China has a long way to go before achieving these objectives. The country ranked 77th out of 213 economies in 2011 with a per capita gross national income of US$4,940, according to World Bank data. It needs a peaceful global environment for focusing on economic development.
Also, it needs more interaction with other countries and regions. The country's new generation of political elites will deal with the issue.
With first-hand experiences of the country's reform and opening up as well as globalization, they have a widened worldview. They are expected to play a positive role in building an orderly international community in line with expectations of both Chinese and other nationalities.
But it also depends on whether the world will give positive feedback. Chinese leaders have reaffirmed that the country is committed to peaceful development. If the world would help China realize its objectives, the "common community of human destiny" China envisions will become a reality.
The author is a Xinhua writer.
This way of doing business may seem the stuff of fancy, but it reflects the rational order in the eyes of contemporary Chinese. It was also reflected in political report to the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which closed on Wednesday. The report advocated a community sense of human destiny that would bring the interests of different nations together.
Fault lines
The post-industrial era witnessed a world in which the weak were the prey of the strong. A new international order was established after World War II with the founding of the United Nations. For over six decades, the international community has endeavored to create a more balanced, just and rational political and economic situation. Unfortunately, with the manipulation of great powers, there are still fault lines kept open by regional unrest or even local warfare, in which the innocent have lost their lives.
The rise of China has been a recent phenomenon in the 21st century. Although China has stressed that it is a well-intentioned latecomer, it still unnerves the defending superpowers. Apparently, the world has not simply become flat because of economic globalization. Behind international relations are conflicts of different ideologies and interests.
During the past three decades of reform, the country has accumulated considerable material wealth to become the largest exporter and the second-largest importer in the world. The impressive progress, however, is used by some people to rail against China.
For instance, "Made in China," or Chinese manufacturing, has faced various trade barriers.
In addition to solar photovoltaic units, one of the most recent examples are products of China's Huawei Technologies and ZTE. A report issued last month by the US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee advised US companies to avoid buying equipment from the two Chinese companies since they were suspected of utilizing their market access for possible spying in the US.
Other charges include currency manipulation, foreign intellectual property theft and job-stealing. Such "misunderstandings" are deeply rooted in the zero-sum Cold War mentality.
Those who refuse to abandon such thinking often purposely overlook the fact that a rising China brings fortune and opportunities to the entire world, though it has deficiencies.
Around the world, one may find that the Chinese are carrying oxygen to the choking global economy: throngs of Chinese real estate investors have landed in the US for buying tours; in the European heartland, Chinese multinationals like create jobs; the number of Chinese studying overseas topped the world by approaching 340,000 in 2011, boosting local educational industries.
The report to the 18th National Congress of the CPC proposed the concept of "beautiful China" that indicates a more prominent position of ecological progress in the country's overall development plan. That will contribute to alleviating the increasing pressures of this resource-starved planet.
Besides, the report says the Party aims to double the per capita income for both urban and rural residents by 2020.
If the plan works, Chinese people will have a better life and China will become both a stronger purchasing power and a larger consumer.
Socialist market
The achievements China has made so far, to a great extent, should be attributed to the socialist market system. Bsides material wealth, the unique path of "socialism with Chinese characteristics" may offer some lessons for human beings as people can learn through comparisons of different modes.
Nobel Prize-winning American economist Paul Samuelson pointed out in his bulky textbook Economics (17th edition, co-authored by William Nordhaus) that a private market mechanism with only a limited role played by the government cannot resolve problems concerning the interests of the majority in society.
The Party congress report outlined an ideal society for Chinese people and the world at large. It looks quite similar to the ideal society Western sages envisioned: productive, civilized, prosperous and harmonious.
China's pursuit of the right objectives is not only important for itself but for the whole world, said Pieter P. Bottelier, a senior associate professor of China studies at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, in a recent interview with Xinhua.
China has a long way to go before achieving these objectives. The country ranked 77th out of 213 economies in 2011 with a per capita gross national income of US$4,940, according to World Bank data. It needs a peaceful global environment for focusing on economic development.
Also, it needs more interaction with other countries and regions. The country's new generation of political elites will deal with the issue.
With first-hand experiences of the country's reform and opening up as well as globalization, they have a widened worldview. They are expected to play a positive role in building an orderly international community in line with expectations of both Chinese and other nationalities.
But it also depends on whether the world will give positive feedback. Chinese leaders have reaffirmed that the country is committed to peaceful development. If the world would help China realize its objectives, the "common community of human destiny" China envisions will become a reality.
The author is a Xinhua writer.
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