Are China and the US missing opportunities?
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E-mail Beijing Review, January 6, 2016
At the same time, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank initiated by China is aimed at compensating for insufficiencies in existing international financing mechanisms. Moreover, negotiations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership free trade agreement, involving China and other 15 countries, are also well under way. The bilateral agreement between China and the United States on climate change has laid a solid foundation for the success of the UN climate change conference in Paris. All these efforts bring home the relevance and vision of the "community of common destiny" proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping and promise a brighter future of global governance with a stronger presence of the developing world.
Now, China, as one of the most important variables in the world today, should assume more international responsibilities as we have outgrown the period when we could focus only on our own growth. We should take initiatives to develop a sound international environment. In particular, we need to seriously consider how to safeguard world peace and stability with the rest of the world.
When Dr. Henry Kissinger was in Beijing recently, I arranged a meeting for him with some young Chinese citizens. When talking about the changing world order, many attendees criticized the United States. Dr. Kissinger listened to them with great patience, and then asked, "If you were given the chance to run the world now, what kind of international structure would you have in mind?" There was no answer. Obviously, we are still at the stage of feeling dissatisfied and more ready to criticize, than proposing, a new design.
We need more specific ideas. As more and more international responsibilities fall on our shoulders earlier than we have anticipated, and as more countries have come to the understanding that China offers great opportunities now and in the future, what ideas and public goods does China have to offer to address global issues and ensure balanced world development? How can we reassure other countries of the benefits that China's development can bring about and persuade them to work with us in sincerity and with mutual trust?
While interacting with the rest of the world, China also needs to find a way to make itself better understood. What we are doing now in international communications is far from enough, and it ultimately comes upon ourselves to convey to the world what our country's purpose is and what the Chinese people's dream is. The world is now very interested in listening to China's stories and the window is open for us, we need to raise awareness and improve our ability in better communicating with the world.
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