People of all countries should work together in building a harmonious world, Chinese leader Hu Jintao said in his report to the on-going 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on Monday.

What influence will this idea have on China's diplomatic development?

On October 16, Guo Chongli, Director General of the Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and former Chinese Ambassador to Kenya, came to China.org.cn to talk about the idea.

Hu explained the harmonious world with two elements – lasting peace and common prosperity.

"The world remains far from tranquil, so we proposed to build a harmonious world which needs the efforts of the people of all countries," Guo said.

"An important connotation of the harmonious world is 'harmonious and different' which was first put forward by the great Chinese philosopher Confucius," Guo said. "Pursuing harmony does not mean that every country is the same – same country system, same culture. The world should be harmonious with each country keeping its own characteristics. The idea of a harmonious world has drawn much attention from the world and has become the important principle for China to deal with many international affairs."

The idea of a harmonious world is not supposed to combat the theory of a China threat that serves the aim of hindering China's development. Guo emphasizes that China's goal of a harmonious world is very sincere and hopes more people will acknowledge the idea.

(China.org.cn by Li Xiaohua, October 17, 2007)