论文部分内容阅读
The 2nd Understanding China Conference was held at Beijing Yanqi Lake International Convention & Exhibition Center from November 1 to 3， 2015. China Institute for Innovation & Development Strategy， Chinese People’s Institute for Foreign Affairs， Beijing Municipal Government and 21st Century Council （Berggruen Institute of Governance） sponsored this year’s conference. Over 200 renowned statesmen （including 16 former presidents and prime ministers）， strategists， corporate leaders， officials from China’s central and local governments and think-tank scholars were present at the meeting， interacting with China’s frontline leaders on the topic of “Understanding China.”
On November 1， Zhang Gaoli， member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China （CPC） Central Committee and vice-premier of the State Council， spoke at the opening ceremony. On November 2， State Councilor Yang Jiechi in his keynote address – Toward a New Type of International Relations of Win-Win Cooperation– illustrated China’s foreign policy and philosophy， demonstrating China’s determination on shouldering responsibilities in the world. On November 3， President Xi Jinping met with attendees of the conference， and made statements about the 2016 G20 Summit to be hosted by China.
China’s Role as a Responsible Major Country
The Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee discussed the draft of the 13th Five-Year Plan （FYP） from October 26 to 29. The 2nd Understanding China Conference was the first top international conference after the Fifth Plenary Session， and its topics of discussion were closely related to the 13th FYP. How China would lay out a map for the next five years caught the world’s attention.
Under the theme of “Understanding China，” the conference discussed China’s politics， economy， foreign affairs， security， defense， etc. The Belt and Road Initiative was one of them. Vice Minister of Finance Zhu Guangyao pointed out， “Writing the Belt and Road Initiative in its next FYP is China’s first move in connecting its own development strategy with the world’s strategic economic needs. The success of the plan is the world’s as much as China’s.”According to Ricardo Lagos， former president of Chile， trade development is decided by a country’s specific conditions. Infrastructure construction is an important issue for many countries at present， and it needs vast investment. Yang Jiemian from Shanghai， an expert on international issues， suggested that some exemplary and experimental projects might promote the the Belt and Road Initiative. What kind of a role China would play in global governance was also an issue of great interest. Many of the foreign guests remarked that they had understood the ideas and propositions of China through the meeting. As the second largest economy in the world， China should have great influence on the development of the international economic order. And， China does not intend to re-construct a system， but is looking to take on responsibilities and complement existing systems.
International Community’s Understanding of China
Wu Jianmin， vice president of China Institute for Innovation & Development Strategy and former ambassador to France， said before the conference， “The term ‘Understanding China’， in another way， shows that people do not know China very much， and often misread China. This conference provides a platform. Internationally acclaimed people and opinion leaders gather here. Talk to them and the message will go out to the world.” In this year’s conference， “communication，” “friendship，” “tell the world Chinese stories” were the terms most heard.
Berggruen， president of Berggruen Institute， was deeply impressed by two of President Xi’s opinions. Firstly， China needs to thrive； so does the world. China hopes to become a constructive force in this process. Secondly， China would not change or create new global financial and economic framework， but complement and contribute to weak links in the prevalent framework. According to Berggruen， changing is not an easy thing， but China has prepared and is determined to actualize its economic reform. Service industries and consumption would be the new economic drivers， and China’s new FYP has spelled out arrangement accordingly.
Ernesto Zedillo， former president of Mexico and chairman of the 21st Century Council， who also attended the 1st Understanding China Conference， was interested in many of the proposals in the 13th FYP. He specially mentioned the change of topics in the two conferences. He remembered that， in the first conference， participants discussed China’s environmental challenges； this time， strategies to promote green development were put forward. Chinese people would benefit from it， and economic development would welcome this new driving force. In the past two years， the global economy has witnessed many challenges which greatly impacted developing countries like China. After talking to senior Chinese government officials， Zedillo found that they were confident about the economic boost， and it would keep going as the ‘new normal’.
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said that all rising powers in history faced various problems， and President Xi’s decision of building a new model of major-power relationship is of great significance. Both China and the U.S. want to enhance collaboration and consolidate the current system of global economic governance. Economic failure or success for both countries in the next 10 years would be understandable. For the two countries， it is very unlikely that one country would succeed and the other fails.
Wu Jianmin concluded that win-win cooperation is the best choice in today’s world. Cold-War mindset and zero-sum mindset should be discarded. “China will be good when the world is good， and vice versa，” he asserted. Mankind should unite， overcome old ideas and conventions， and face up to the new challenges by going forward hand in hand.
On November 1， Zhang Gaoli， member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China （CPC） Central Committee and vice-premier of the State Council， spoke at the opening ceremony. On November 2， State Councilor Yang Jiechi in his keynote address – Toward a New Type of International Relations of Win-Win Cooperation– illustrated China’s foreign policy and philosophy， demonstrating China’s determination on shouldering responsibilities in the world. On November 3， President Xi Jinping met with attendees of the conference， and made statements about the 2016 G20 Summit to be hosted by China.
China’s Role as a Responsible Major Country
The Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee discussed the draft of the 13th Five-Year Plan （FYP） from October 26 to 29. The 2nd Understanding China Conference was the first top international conference after the Fifth Plenary Session， and its topics of discussion were closely related to the 13th FYP. How China would lay out a map for the next five years caught the world’s attention.
Under the theme of “Understanding China，” the conference discussed China’s politics， economy， foreign affairs， security， defense， etc. The Belt and Road Initiative was one of them. Vice Minister of Finance Zhu Guangyao pointed out， “Writing the Belt and Road Initiative in its next FYP is China’s first move in connecting its own development strategy with the world’s strategic economic needs. The success of the plan is the world’s as much as China’s.”According to Ricardo Lagos， former president of Chile， trade development is decided by a country’s specific conditions. Infrastructure construction is an important issue for many countries at present， and it needs vast investment. Yang Jiemian from Shanghai， an expert on international issues， suggested that some exemplary and experimental projects might promote the the Belt and Road Initiative. What kind of a role China would play in global governance was also an issue of great interest. Many of the foreign guests remarked that they had understood the ideas and propositions of China through the meeting. As the second largest economy in the world， China should have great influence on the development of the international economic order. And， China does not intend to re-construct a system， but is looking to take on responsibilities and complement existing systems.
International Community’s Understanding of China
Wu Jianmin， vice president of China Institute for Innovation & Development Strategy and former ambassador to France， said before the conference， “The term ‘Understanding China’， in another way， shows that people do not know China very much， and often misread China. This conference provides a platform. Internationally acclaimed people and opinion leaders gather here. Talk to them and the message will go out to the world.” In this year’s conference， “communication，” “friendship，” “tell the world Chinese stories” were the terms most heard.
Berggruen， president of Berggruen Institute， was deeply impressed by two of President Xi’s opinions. Firstly， China needs to thrive； so does the world. China hopes to become a constructive force in this process. Secondly， China would not change or create new global financial and economic framework， but complement and contribute to weak links in the prevalent framework. According to Berggruen， changing is not an easy thing， but China has prepared and is determined to actualize its economic reform. Service industries and consumption would be the new economic drivers， and China’s new FYP has spelled out arrangement accordingly.
Ernesto Zedillo， former president of Mexico and chairman of the 21st Century Council， who also attended the 1st Understanding China Conference， was interested in many of the proposals in the 13th FYP. He specially mentioned the change of topics in the two conferences. He remembered that， in the first conference， participants discussed China’s environmental challenges； this time， strategies to promote green development were put forward. Chinese people would benefit from it， and economic development would welcome this new driving force. In the past two years， the global economy has witnessed many challenges which greatly impacted developing countries like China. After talking to senior Chinese government officials， Zedillo found that they were confident about the economic boost， and it would keep going as the ‘new normal’.
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said that all rising powers in history faced various problems， and President Xi’s decision of building a new model of major-power relationship is of great significance. Both China and the U.S. want to enhance collaboration and consolidate the current system of global economic governance. Economic failure or success for both countries in the next 10 years would be understandable. For the two countries， it is very unlikely that one country would succeed and the other fails.
Wu Jianmin concluded that win-win cooperation is the best choice in today’s world. Cold-War mindset and zero-sum mindset should be discarded. “China will be good when the world is good， and vice versa，” he asserted. Mankind should unite， overcome old ideas and conventions， and face up to the new challenges by going forward hand in hand.