At the United Nations 60th anniversary summit in September 2005 in New York, Chinese President Hu Jintao said in a speech that in the long history of human progress, the fate of people around the world has never been as close and interdependent as today.

"Common goals unite us and common challenges bind us together. All countries must unite to build a truly harmonious world with long-lasting peace and common prosperity," he said.

As Dr. Zhu Feng says, "China has gradually proved over the past 30 years that it has become a friendly member of global society with an international perspective," he said.

The change of attitude appeared long before the SARS outbreak. When the Greater Hinggan Mountains forest in northeast China was ravaged by major forest fires in 1987 -- burning 1.48 million acres of forest and land, killing more than 200 people and leaving more than 50,000 homeless -- China appealed for support from the international community and established a special work committee to facilitate international relief operations. It received US$4.13 million from 20 countries.

In July 1991, 18 Chinese provinces suffered serious flooding with a total economic losses of 9 billion yuan (US$1.1 billion). A press conference was held by the Ministry of Civil Affairs on behalf of the central government to describe the flood damage and appeal for worldwide support. This was China's first large scale international appeal. A total of 2.3 billion yuan (US$288 million) was collected, 2.3 times China's annual central relief fund budget.

"A nation must be responsible for the life and security of its citizens and always make people its top priority," said Lin Xiaoguang, a research fellow with the International Strategy Research Center of the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

"Natural disasters have nothing to do with the political system. Nor do they reflect a nation's strength, because relying on oneself does not preclude receiving international assistance," he said. "China contributes to the world by joining relief operations for other crisis-torn countries."

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