China on 'peaceful path'

By Ji Beibei Source:Global Times Published: 2011-9-7 3:27:00

China will unswervingly follow the path of peaceful development and uphold a defense policy that is defensive in nature, according to a white paper titled "China's Peaceful Development" released Tuesday.

China's peaceful development has broken away from the traditional pattern where a rising power was bound to seek hegemony, the paper said.

The overall goal of pursuing peaceful development aims to "promote development and harmony domestically and pursue cooperation and peace internationally," it said.

The 13,000-word paper, which elaborates on what China's peaceful development means to the rest of the world, also said the Chinese defense budget is "reasonable" and China will never engage in an arms race.

Huang Dahui of Renmin University of China's International Relations department told the Global Times that the white paper noted that China would shoulder more responsibility around the world.

China has made important contributions to the stable development of the world economy, and since its entry into the WTO in 2001, it has imported goods worth nearly $750 billion every year, creating over 14 million jobs for those exporting countries and regions, the paper said.

However, China's per capita GDP in 2010 ranked around 100th in the world. So "another keyword we need to note about the paper is we should do what our capability allows us to do," Huang said.

On the other hand, China's economic development and efforts toward military modernization have prompted fears of a "China threat."

On January 11, the domestically made J-20 stealth fighter made its maiden flight. And months later, the country's first aircraft carrier made its first test run.

China declared on many occasions it is committed to upholding world peace and promoting common development and prosperity. However, there are concerns abroad about Beijing's "naval ambitions."

A report in Time Magazine interpreted the flight of the J-20  stealth fighter in China as aiming to "show some muscle to the US." Reuters reported that China's "growing reach at sea is triggering regional jitters that have fed into long-standing territorial disputes, and could speed up military expansion across Asia."

The white paper said that China, a country with a borderline of over 22,000 kilometers and a coastline of over 18,000 kilometers, is "justified in modernizing its defense capabilities" to handle multiple security challenges.

Xinhua contributed to this story


Newspaper headline: China on ‘peaceful path’


Posted in: China Watch

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