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World Perspective for China

By Li Hong (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-10-12 19:10

The Great Saint Confucius enshrined in our blood that Chinese ought to be humble and to learn from others, all of the time. In the face of a 30-year economic stampede, brought about by another Great Man, Deng Xiaoping, some of us seem to be getting carried away by a few material achievements and are even beginning to talk big.

Such posturing though would be shortsighted. Being complacent is perilous to the nation. China has a long way to go before reaching the level of the world's developed counterparts. Therefore, it is not only appropriate but also necessary for us to maintain a sense of modesty and to keep on learning.

At the threshold of a new era, in which the majority of our people can afford food and clothing, where more are well-off and aspire to become millionaires or billionaires, China needs to take a short breath and think over what are our next targets, what are some of the hurdles before those targets, and yes, what can China do to integrate and resonate with the wider world.

I would suggest we keep a "world perspective," that is viewing China on the map of as part of a collective and united blue planet. We could continue to be creative in our domestic system renovation, which has been distinctive and dramatically successful, but we must not deviate from the widely adopted and proven norms of human society, because China is not reclusive, and Chinese people are not mavericks.

President Hu Jintao said in June, in one of his key policy speeches, that China's ruling Party needs to keep encouraging and supporting the emancipation of minds, keep on with reform and the opening-up to the outside world; keep striving for scientific development, and keep building up an all-around well-off society. And, Premier Wen Jiabao said in an essay in the People's Daily earlier this year, that China, still in its primary or elementary stage of socialism, needs to embrace more advanced rules of state management, be it collective and democratic leadership, be it improvement of human rights, or be it in the maintenance of world peace and steady development.

Emancipation of our brains or the freeing up of ideas and the push for innovation is of great importance for this country because we were embroiled in and heavily influenced by the rigid Soviet doctrines before 1978. Without ideological emancipation, there wouldn't have been reform and opening-up endeavors, such as China's entry to the World Trade Organization and integration of this country with the world; there wouldn't have been Beijing's successful attainment of the Olympic Games, and there wouldn't have been the colorful lifestyles we now enjoy, and diversified strains of thoughts allowing us to innovate and progress.

And, to foster scientific development requires China to keep on learning from the wider world. This economic machine is not sustainable, if we go on expanding polluting industries and neglecting our air and water; keep on generating low-end manufacturing products and neglecting hi-tech investment, and linger on improving the benefits of the urbanites whilst neglecting the welfare of tens of millions of rural folks and migrant workers.

The American sub-prime mortgage crisis has left the Western markets crying out for funds. It has also taught us a much-needed lesson why China needs a world perspective. It is notable and timely that China's top leaders have held a study session probing this problem while taking up precautions to safeguard China's financial security.

One phenomenon of China's success over the past two years can be found in the skyrocketing equity market. It is behaving wildly, stoked by the central bank's low interest policy, which entails a flood of withdrawals from bank savings to stock trading accounts. Some are increasingly worried, saying China's stock market is "a flower grown in the greenhouse" -- largely isolated from world funds -- and could be susceptible to any snap change in the weather that would leave many wilted.

With regard to foreign relations, a world perspective means that we need to look beyond traditional geopolitics. Thanks to the Six-Party Beijing talks, the Korean nuclear proliferation issue now faces a brilliant chance to get resolved. And, with time, the Chinese proposal of peaceful development and the establishment of "a harmonious world" will attract more supporters worldwide.

Such actions and policies - with a world perspective at the core of decision-making - serve future generations, not just domestically - but internationally as well. The time for breast thumbing is not, and should never be, nigh.