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Different development paths

By Wang Wanzheng (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-09-29 07:50

Imbalanced world is a result of Western mode of growth, which puts developing countries in unfair position

China was once again in the spotlight at the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Summit, which concluded in New York on Sept 22.

As a populous developing country that is growing fast, China has achieved some success in economic and social development and explored a viable development path that is different from the highly trumpeted Western model. The country's rapid development has favorably changed the global political, economic and institutional environment, which will be helpful in implementing the MDGs.

With the deepening of globalization and the acceleration of multi-polarization since the end of the Cold War, the democratization of international relations has gradually come into vogue. However, hegemonism and power politics still remain fundamental factors that could sabotage world peace and hamper development.

The build-up of China's national strength and its narrowing gap with the Western world have made its diplomatic psychology - characterized as openness, pursuit of cooperation, peaceful coexistence, mutual respect and mutual benefit - increasingly popular and widely accepted by other members of the global community.

To deal with the so-called challenges from a fast-growing China and maintain a self-alleged, reeling hegemonic status, Western countries will have to make some revisions to their previous modes of behavior, as indicated by US President Barack Obama's bid to change his predecessor George W. Bush's "cowboy" diplomatic style.

Obama's proposal of "dialogue and cooperation" with other world members and his calls for mutual respect among different religions, as well as every nation having the right to choose its own development path according to its unique conditions, have symbolized that the world's sole superpower is now on the way to adjusting its diplomatic strategy that has long been established on unilateralism. This will promote "big adjustments" in the global strategic pattern at an earlier time and help create a global political environment that benefits common development and prosperity.

Despite the change in their mode of conduct, Western countries have never changed their intentions of maintaining and extending their hard-won hegemonic status. They have never given up efforts to take advantage of their overwhelming political power to set international agendas, according to their plans to sway international politics. This was indicated by the US moves at the G20 Pittsburgh Summit, during which Washington, as the host country, tried to blame the global financial crisis on imbalanced global economic growth in a bid to evade its own responsibilities for the crisis.

Through the efforts of the US, sustainable and balanced development was listed as an important summit agenda. That demonstrated Washington's unequivocal attempt to maintain its economic hegemony. In fact, the imbalance in development between the South and the North remains a prominent problem in the global economy.

As a large developing country, China did not play to the West's tune at the summit. Instead, with a view to maintaining the world's common interests, it insisted that common development between the South and the North outweighs the US-advocated "balanced development".

As early as the G20 Washington Summit, President Hu Jintao pointed out that developing countries, especially low-income countries, were the most affected. He called on the international community to pay more attention to them. At the Pittsburgh and Toronto summits, President Hu once again emphasized that only effective development in the developing countries can consolidate global steps toward recovery.

Due to China's efforts and persistence, the issue of development has become increasingly important on the global political stage. Through China's efforts, the G20 Seoul Summit due in November is also expected to include development as a separate issue.

China's development in the past decades has also pushed the global economic environment to develop in a more fair, open and orderly direction. This is a precondition for a healthy, stable and sustainable development of the global economy.

At a time when many developed countries in the world have turned to trade protectionism and set up trade barriers, China has chosen to launch a war against the practices. On many international occasions, President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have reaffirmed China's stance to reject trade protectionism.

The country explicitly said it would not push for the "buy China" policy at the time when some US Congressmen strived to include the "buy America" clause into its economic stimulus plan. China's active efforts have effectively helped curb this unpopular tendency in the global economic environment.

China's rapid development has also pushed forward the development of the decades-old international political and economic order, to the advantage of developing countries. The Western-dominated political and economic establishment played an important role in promoting world economic stability and development, but it also put developing countries in an unfair and unequal position.

To address the situation, China has consistently made unremitting efforts to build a fair and reasonable global political and economic order. Due to the joint efforts by China and a number of other emerging economies, developing countries have won more representation in the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and other international financial institutions.

China's fast-growing economy and its development have convincingly shown the world that the Western model is not the only option for members of the international community to develop their economies.

The author is a researcher with the China Center for Comparative Politics and Economics under the Central Compilation and Translation Bureau.