What does China contribute to the world?

In my year-end review of situation in 2008, I said: The year 2008 is the most ideal year for China after the Opium War (1840-1942) in term of an upbeat, rising international status and with the fastest expansion of its global impact. Latest developments in the world situation as of early this year show this trend is continuing, China has moved from the fringes to the center of the world stage; the world raises expectation on the country, and the Chinese nation is expanding its cooperation with the rest of the world.

However, we still need conscientiously to pander on such a question, that is, what does China contribute to the world?

First of all, what China is able to contribute tremendously to the world is the viewpoint and concept of the harmonious world.

At the summit on the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations on Sept. 15, 2005, Chinese President Hu Jintao raised the concept on building a harmonious world with long-lasting peace and common prosperity. The proposition on building a harmonious world conforms to the trend of the times and is winning increasing sympathy and support. In its external relations with overseas, China will continue to hold high the banner of peace, development, and cooperation, and this is precisely our understanding and also our proposition.

China is rising and its relationships with the rest of the world have undergone historic changes. As a new, emerging big nation, it will unswervingly stay on the road of peaceful development and unflinchingly implement the opening-up strategy of mutual benefit and win-win outcome. So, the path we have followed differs widely with the beaten track of big powers in history, and this also represents the nation’s contributions to the world.

Secondly, what China can contribute to the world is its longstanding culture, which is the sole culture around the world that has remained uninterrupted for thousands of years. The world over the past centuries was steered by the Western culture and so the world knows relatively more about it and have a deeper understanding of it.

The Western culture (sometimes equates with Western civilization or European civilization) refers to the culture of European origin. The term “Western culture” is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional religious beliefs and practice.

To date, people worldwide know pretty well the immense contributions done by the Western culture to the world, but any culture is somewhat imperfect with some deficiencies and drawbacks. Hence, in a sense, complex problems of the world in existence have much to do with deficiencies of the Western culture.

The Western culture is based on the civilization of Christianity, in which the good and evils, the beautiful things and ugliness, and legitimism and heterodoxy are diametrically opposed to each other and cannot be reconciled. The world, however, is vivid, colorful and richly-endowed, and it cannot be deemed as simply as either black or white. People in China 2000 years ago set forth an outlook or concept on harmony with differentiations as they came to realize that it was impossible to annihilate diversity but to accept and recognize it and proceed to co-exist with it.

Thirdly, China needs to transmit its concept, proposition and culture to the world, and this requires not only words but concrete deeds as well.

China has introduced whatever it could from overseas: the capital, technology and advanced management methods and concepts and benefited a great deal from them. Otherwise, China could hardly make any great advances. Looking forward to the next three decades, it should “go more overseas”. How Chinese citizens and enterprises going overseas continue to implement the win-win strategy and how to disseminate the Chinese culture, and this poses a major topic.

Nevertheless, the process of summarizing and enriching the Chinese culture may call for efforts of several generations. The present-day world will be enabled to see that China’s rise has brought the development, progress and prosperity instead of untold sufferings and that China’s rise will make the world still more splendid.

Doubtless to say, many Chinese going overseas have done a lot of good, benign things and, however, there are also a few Chinese who have brought disgrace on the Chinese nation, and some of them brought overseas some hideous things intrinsic in Chinese society. A Chinese ambassador to an African nation once told me that a couple of Chinese residing Guinea made and sold fake medicine, and their heinous deeds enraged media in the Africa.

A few dregs or scums, blind by the lust for gain, have tarnished the prestige of their country and the harms or consequences they did to their country need more people to retrieve with concrete actions.

Then, what does China contribute to the world? This poses a very great topic that calls for people’s in-depth consideration, research and explorations.

By People’s Daily Online and contributed by Wu Jianmin, an especially-invited People’s Daily, the leading newspaper in China, a honorary chairman of the International Exhibition Bureau, and a full member of the European Academy of Sciences, Arts and Humanities