Let 2012 be year of cooperation

The year 2011 is significant for China in many ways. It marks the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the 100th anniversary of the 1911 Revolution, both of which led to the formation of the People's Republic of China 62 years ago. Also, this year China became the world's second largest economy, and the world's third nation to launch a space station program of its own design and manufacture the Tiangong-1. As 2011 closes, 2012, the Chinese Year of the Long, or the divine Chinese dragon -a legendary combination of snake, phoenix, fish, tiger and deer - is expected to bring about auspicious changes. The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China will select the country's fifth generation leaders. New programs will be implemented, reform and opening-up will be deepened, the transformation of the economic development pattern will gain pace, and the construction of a moderately prosperous (xiaokang) society will intensify.

In 2011, China continued its peaceful rise, as re-affirmed by the State Council's September white paper, "China's Peaceful Development". Peace and harmony, the deep-rooted cultural value, has become China's strategic guide for national and international development.

On the global front, peaceful resolution of conflicts is China's preferred approach, be they economic, trade, political, environmental, security, historical, cultural, diplomatic or territorial. This approach is consistent with China's non-zero-sum stance for resolving issues; it seeks win-win solutions for all concerned parties. This contrasts with the oft-practiced zero-sum game by some countries that seek only win-lose solutions, usually for self-enrichment.