China's new President Xi Jinping waits
to greet for delegates
at the 2014 Boao Forum for Asia in Boao Hainan Province.
'Selfish Gain'
Should No Longer be Basis of Foreign Policies (China Daily, People's Republic of
China)
Is China, under its new President Xi Jinping,
following a foreign policy that puts its own interests behind those of its
region and the world? That is the contention of this not-so-veiled criticism of
U.S. and Japan foreign policy toward North Korea and Asia from the state-run China Daily.
A change in tack - or in fact?: General Liu Yuan, 'political commissar' with the People's Liberation Army General Logistics Department and close aide to China's President Xi has been tamping down Beijing's previously bellicose rhetoric in regard to war with Japan and the threats to China's interests in the region.
Since President Xi Jinping remark
that, "No country should be allowed to damage world peace or throw a region
into chaos for selfish gain," there has been a flood of speculation about what
country or countries he was referring to. Instead of playing this guessing game,
paying attention to the security vision of China's new leader would be more meaningful.
Xi made the remark during his keynote address at the annual Boao
Forum for Asia. Elaborating on China's perceptions of peace and security,
Xi urged the international community to work together to achieve comprehensive
security for all, to build the global village into a grand stage for development,
rather than a venue for gladiators to do battle with one another.
This new concept of shared security stands in sharp contrast
to the until-now dominant parochial approach, which tends to regard security as
being based on one's own interests and needs. Driven by this undesirable
approach, whenever there is a regional or global security crisis, countries
first and always calculate the benefits to themselves.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
In the final analysis, from the Syria crisis to territorial
disputes in the East and South China seas, many of the world's current security
woes can, one way or another, be traced back to the pursuit of selfish gain,
and in disregard for the security needs of the region and world.
With the growing interaction and interdependency among
countries, friction between and among countries is inevitable. But in today's
world, the law of the jungle is the wrong response to security concerns. Nor
does diplomatic realism mean that one nation can trample on interests of
another while pursuing its own.
Xi's proposal represents both China's desire for and
commitment to peaceful co-existence. It is also meant to show dissatisfaction with
the irresponsible fashion in which some countries approach regional and
international issues.
Rather than undercutting the efforts of one another,
countries should cooperate and make joint contributions to global and regional
peace and stability.
While pursuing their own interests, they should give due
consideration to both the larger regional picture and the interests of other nations.
As members of the same global village, all nations should
strive to foster a sense of community and shared destiny. When seeking to
resolve disputes and conflict, they should always opt for dialogue and
negotiation.
