Zheng Bijian

Minister Wang Chen,

Mayor Yang Xiong,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Friends,

Good morning!

It is my great pleasure to meet you, both old and new friends at the World Forum of China Studies, which has now entered its fifth session. The discussions at the previous sessions have kindled a lot of intellectual ideas and broader consensus on the path of development that China should pursue. I may recall that seven years ago at the Second World Forum of China Studies, I made a speech entitled “Chinese Path, Chinese Dream and Chinese Heart”. In that speech I explained the concept and the path of China’s peaceful rise or peaceful development. My views and thoughts were well-received and echoed by many Chinese and international scholars. By focusing on the theme of this forum “China’s Way”, I’d like to share with you how I look at the prospect of China’s path of peaceful development in the second decade of the 21st century and how China can develop “convergence of interests” and build “communities of interests” with the rest of the world.

I.                   China’s is entering a new stage in its pursuit of peaceful development.

The 18th CPC congress held four months ago elected a new central leadership headed by General Secretary Xi Jinping and set up the goal of further deepening reform and opening up and attaining moderate prosperity throughout the country in all aspects by 2020.

Six days ago, the 12th National People’s Congress elected a new state leadership and a new administration, and formulated specific policy measures to comprehensively advance China’s economic, political, cultural, social and ecological progress. In his closing speech delivered to the NPC, President Xi made further elaborated on “Chinese Dream” and the historical destiny of China in contemporary times.

These two monumental events herald a new historical period of China’s reform, opening up and peaceful development.

Both the report of the 18th CPC Congress and the report on the work of the government delivered to the 12th National People’s Congress have announced in explicit terms that China will unswervingly stick to the path of the peaceful development, which is not only a major strategic choice of China but also her solemn declaration of foreign strategy to the rest of the world. 

II.                China’s path of peaceful development can stand the test of history

Through our hard work in the past three decades, China has charted a path of peaceful development that fits well the conditions of the country and keeps in line with the development of our times.

The 3rd plenary session of the 11th CPC Congress in 1978 was a turning point. The Chinese communists represented by Deng Xiaoping, through accurate analysis of the world situation, clearly discerned and seized the opportunity. They introduced the policy of reform and opening up to the outside world. In the course of reform and opening, a brand new development path has emerged, a path that guides us to independently achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and build a prosperous, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious socialist modern country by integrating into, rather than detaching from, economic globalization.

Thanks to our concerted efforts and determination to develop our country. The past thirty years and more have witnessed dynamism and vitality of the Chinese nation that was never seen before.  People are encouraged to think out of box and unleash the productive forces. We have initiated theoretical, institutional, scientific and technological and cultural innovations in the light of our experience in the past three decades. All this has helped transform the country at a fast pace.

That is why China has been able to achieve an average annual GDP growth rate of almost 10% for 30 years in a row and to turn an underdeveloped country into a moderately prosperous one.

China’s growth is a great contribution to the development of the world. We have, through our actions, proved that we are a staunch force for world peace and have therefore gained status and weight in the international community that we deserve.

The sea change brought about by reform and opening up has not only transformed the whole country, but also given us a clear and profound understanding of our role in history and our direction to move forward which, as I see it, could be defined as “peaceful rise”.

As an observer and scholar, since I proposed the concept of “China’s peaceful rise” in 2002, I have always stressed that the word “peaceful” is directed against “China threat” argument and the word “rise” is directed against “China collapse” views, both spread by some international opinions.

In brief, China must and has to choose a development path of peaceful rise that no major countries in the modern history had ever chosen. I am sure this path will lead to success.  And this points to the direction that China is taking today.

III.             The content of China’s path of peaceful development will continue to expand.

To rise peacefully implies that we must handle properly our relationship with all countries and regions concerned. This is an intrinsic dimension of the peaceful rise concept. For that reason, since 2004, I have further proposed that in the process of peaceful rise, China must gradually enlarge “convergence of interests” and build “communities of interests” (“communities of common interests and stakes” as I called it at that time) in all dimensions with our neighbors and surrounding regions, as well as with all other countries and regions.

I stated my conviction in June 2005 that in the course of peaceful rise, China must and can form closely-knit “communities of interests” with various countries and regions in different fields and at different levels.

Then in the second decade of this century, I further developed this thinking in a number of

speeches in and outside China, including my speeches in Washington DC and at Stanford University during President Hu Jintao’s visit to the US in 2011 and my address to the 21st Century Council meeting in France later that year.

IV.             Developing “convergence of interests” and building “communities of interests” are in line with the general trends of development of China in the second decade of the 21st century.

Here I’d like to bring your attention to a basic fact: the concepts of peaceful rise, of expanding “convergence of interests” and building “communities of interests” find their roots in the ideas and goals of China’s development in the second decade of 21st century.

In the next ten years, China’s development faces a number of serious challenges, such as resources and environment constraints on economic growth; unbalanced economic and social development including imbalances between investment and consumption, between foreign investments in China and Chinese investments abroad, between the city and the rural areas, and between the eastern and western regions; difficult industrial restructuring and insufficient R&D; human resources unable to meet the needs of employment structure; inequitable distribution of incomes and readjustment of interest structure; lagging social governance and increasing social tensions; and severe natural disasters, both predictable and unpredictable, etc.

To meet these challenges, our work in the second decade of the 21st century will undoubtedly focus on raising China’s productive forces to a higher level. It means that building on the progress of reform and development in the past thirty plus years, we must make greater strides in the development of productive forces in both quantitative and qualitative terms (especially qualitative terms). That is the center of everything we do and the very basis of all our effort to solve any problems. Therefore, we must, first of all, make remarkable progress in the development of science, technology and education. Second, we must rebalance the Chinese economy and transform our industrial structure (expanding domestic demand and domestic market). Third, we must make great effort to improve social governance aimed to make the Chinese society more dynamic, orderly, environmentally friendly and therefore more harmonious. Fourth, in terms of foreign relations, we must gradually enlarge “convergence of interests” and build “communities of interests” of different content and at various levels with our neighbors and surrounding regions, as well as with all relevant countries and regions. What is more, China will devote more efforts to domestic development and to raising ethic standards and inspiring people to work hard for the country. China will become a dynamic country enjoying harmony and stability. Thus China will achieve the goal of peaceful rise and cultural advancement.

Without any doubt, such a China will provide the rest of the world with a bigger market and greater opportunity for development.

All this will determine the direction of China’s relations with the rest of the world in the next decade and beyond.

V.                Developing “convergence of interests” and building “communities of interests” are also in line with the general trends of development of the world in the second decade of the 21st century.

The vision of China’s peaceful rise and developing “convergence of interests” and “communities of interests” are also in line with the general trends of global development.

In my view, the second decade of the 21st century is a period of unprecedented opportunities and challenges for China and the world as a whole.

Here I would like to share with you my assessment which is divided into eight-points.

First, multi-polarity and economic globalization will further increase the interdependence among countries to the extent that no country can develop itself without working with other countries.

Second, as relations among major countries are being significantly realigned, we will see even more cooperation and competition. Each and every country seeks development through cooperation and tries to gain advantages through competition. It is therefore logical that we manage competition well and promote cooperation more.

Third, there is now greater momentum for the peaceful rise of large developing countries as a whole including China. The next ten years is a crucial period for their development and rise.