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| China's diplomacy productive in 2002 |
| CCTV.COM 2002-12-21 14:12:05 |
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The past year has been fruitful for China's diplomacy. China strengthened ties with major powers as well as developing nations, enhanced relations with its neighbors and exercised its role as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
These images capture the momentum of Chinese diplomacy in the past year, a year of candid, practical foreign policy. According to a senior research fellow at a Foreign Ministry affiliated think tank, China's diplomacy is characterized by "principles with flexibility."
Su Ge, vice－president of China Institute of Int'l Studies says China has made the best out of an international environment marked by changes as well as continuity. He said that "First, the globalization continued. Second, the progress towards pluralisation continued. Third, the overall trend is still peace and development. Against this backdrop, China's foreign policy has made progress in all fronts."
2002 saw major rapprochement in the Sino－US relations. Top leaders of the two countries met twice to consult each other on world issues.
First, in February on the 30th anniversary of Richard Nixon's groundbreaking visit to China, US President George W. Bush came to Beijing. Though he had declared China "a strategic competitor" of the United States at the start of his presidency, Bush now sought to build "constructive and cooperative relations" with China.
Then in October, President Bush welcomed President Jiang Zemin to his Texas ranch, where the two leaders spent quality time on a cruise on the ranch lake. Experts say while differences between the two sides still loom large, the September 11 terrorist attacks served as a turning point in relations by tying the two countries together under the banner of anti－terrorism.
"To a great extent it's a realization on the American side that in handling things in the world, they need cooperation from big powers including China, Russia and others. On the basis of that, they took initiative and we responded. Hence this kind of improvement," said Mei Renyi, director of American Studies Center of Beijing Foreign Studies University.
China also greatly values its relations with other powers. President Jiang Zemin met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin three times during the year. June brought President Jiang Zemin to St. Petersburg, Russia, for the Second Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. President Jiang, along with leaders of Russia and four central Asian nations, signed a charter giving the organization formal international legal status. This strengthened security on China's northwest border.
In their most recent meeting earlier this month in Beijing, the two sides signed a joint declaration to further consolidate good－neighborly relations. China and Russia agree on the need to fight against terrorism, for a multilateral approach to the Iraqi issue, and for reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula.
Chinese relations with the European Union have been positive, thanks in part to complimentary economies. China and its largest EU trade partner, Germany, celebrated 30 years of diplomatic ties. A series of events to mark the occasion were held in both countries.
In spring 2002, Sino－Japanese ties were tainted by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to the Yasukuni Shrine －－ a constant trigger in Sino－Japanese relations. The two sides later managed to iron out the hiccups and to mark the 30th anniversary of the normalization of the Sino－Japanese diplomatic ties－－－a 13,000－member Japanese delegation came to visit China. In addressing the delegation, Chinese President Jiang Zemin said that only by "using history as mirror and looking forward into the future" can Sino－Japanese relations be further developed.
In other regional diplomacy, 2002 witnessed a breakthrough in China－ASEAN relations. At the sixth ASEAN plus one summit in Phnom Penn, Cambodia in November, Premier Zhu Rongji signed a landmark framework agreement with ASEAN leaders. The deal marks the beginning of a China－ASEAN free trade zone, one that has 1.7 billion consumers and with about two trillion US dollars' worth of GDP.
Much of China's diplomatic strength lies in its role as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.
"In dealing with regional hot spots, China worked with other UN members in easing the tension and maintaining the authority of UN. For example, in the Iraq issue, China worked with other partners in UN's Security Council in passing the 1441 Resolution and safeguarding the authority of UN," said Liu Jianchao, spokesman of Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The spokesman says China has also helped to ease tension in South Asia and the Middle East. All these show that China is a responsible member of the UN, facilitating peace and prosperity in the international community.
With the torch being passed to a new Chinese leadership, experts say continuity rather than change is expected. So long as peace and development remain the dominant themes of the era, there's reason to believe China will pursue its independent foreign policy of peace to facilitate its domestic agenda.
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Editor: Han Ling CCTV.com
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