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China has always given prominence to the application of strategy, and its overall strategy has developed a series of unique features which are proving a significant advantage in the country's internal and external development.

Striking an imbalance [By Gou Ben/China.org.cn]

American economist Stephen Roach believes that strategy has been the essence of China's modern development miracle and the country has long excelled in incorporating strategy into its economic policy design. From Deng Xiaoping's "reform and opening-up" policy during the fifth Five-Year Plan in the late 1970s to the economic rebalancing policy which focused on stimulating consumer spending during the 12th Five-Year Plan, strategy has been the essence of China's modern development miracle. China's advantage in terms of its development strategy can be better illustrated by a comparison of Western and Chinese strategic thought and application.

First of all, China focuses on drawing lessons from history while Western countries lay more emphasis on evaluating experiences derived from real-world, practical situations.

Chinese people tend to analyze and develop strategies using a historical perspective, seeking references from cultural history in order to do so. Concepts such as benevolence, harmony and mutual benefits all reflect the flexibility of China's strategy. The internalizing nature of the Chinese civilization has determined the defensive feature of the country's strategy. In contrast to its internalized culture and civilization of the past, the foundations of which were laid by its highly developed agricultural economy, China has now focused on both internal and external development in the globalized era. It has also developed extensive alliances by absorbing lessons from history regarding the art of alliances.

In contrast, the strategy of Western countries, such as game theory and the concept of power are mostly derived from the practice of international relations over the more recent 500-year period. The expanding nature of marine civilization has determined the offensive nature of the strategy of the U.S., U.K. and other Western powers, which tend to obtain resources through outward expansion, and thus, they lead the world. This process is usually accompanied by endless wars and the hawkish strategy is well reflected in Henry Kissinger's "Diplomacy" and the Polish-American political scientist Zbigniew Kazimierz Brzezinski's "The Grand Chessboard."

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