Asia joins hands for new century
Yu SuiChina Daily  Updated: 2005-05-19 06:27

Today's Asian countries have the historic mission of joint development. Time is galloping on and the world is full of complexities, providing both good opportunities and severe challenges.

Asia is rich in natural and human resources. Accounting for one-third of the world's territory and half of the world's population, it is endowed with a long, rich heritage and splendid cultures. In the arena of world peace and development, Asia has a unique position.

Asia differs from country to country, but that is not an automatic minus. A five-point principle of peaceful co-existence, which has had a far-reaching impact, was born in this continent of multiple forms of social and political systems.

Asian countries also share many blessings and misfortunes. Its peoples have suffered from wars and invasions and understand the value of peace and the need for co-operation and growth.

Common development has become the consensus. Peace and stability in the region depends on communication and co-operation, and prosperity cannot do without joining hands as well as self-reliance. Economic co-operation in Asia is evolving - from unilateral to multilateral; from trade only to a mixture of trade, investment, currency and finance; from non-systematic to both systematic and non-systematic.

Asia boasts the world's most dynamic economic entities, new markets with great potential and the largest energy reserves. Asia is taking a larger and larger share of the world economy and has more and more weight on the international stage.

Joint efforts by all Asian countries have contributed to the emergence of an equal, open, mutually beneficial and multiform co-operational model.

During the dark days of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, people across the continent provided assistance to one another. And when the tsunami hit the Indian Ocean at the end of 2004, sympathy and generosity flowed freely among Asian countries. The co-operative spirit withstood the test of these two disasters.

The rapid rise in Asian economic co-operation goes hand in hand with the improvement in political relations on the continent.

Within the confines of one country, social harmony can be maintained only through the narrowing of the wealth gap; among neighbouring countries, harmonious intra-continental relations also depend on the narrowing of the wealth gap.

Asia needs to build up an effective security mechanism. Regional integration should be on the agenda. The limit of an individual country should be recognized in today's world. The collective power of Asia should be tapped.

The most suitable diplomacy, which is multi-pronged, should be "friendship with those afar and closeness with neighbours."

Asia, once united, may not need the interference of external forces or any form of military coalitions. Any act of "walking in the footstep of hegemony" will result in the loss of national dignity.

In order to rid themselves of poverty and grow their economies in safe and stable conditions, Asian countries need to create friendly environments. They need to improve the welfare of the whole of mankind as well as their own people in the spirit of human-oriented development and triumph through peaceful means.

As economic factors play an increasingly important role, competition among nations for markets, natural resources, technologies and human talent will intensify, and at the same time the trend towards co-operation will emerge and the possibility of healthy interaction will augment.

This kind of interaction is usually made up of three stages: a starting point, a process and a result. The starting point is the protection of each country's own interests while at the same time showing respect for those of other countries.

The process is the co-existence of competition and co-operation, of contradiction and compromise. Co-operation calls for trust; compromise should be adequate and competition must abide by the rules so that it will not lead to confrontation.

The result is mutual benefit rather than unilateral gains.

The policy of balance can coincide with the principle of national interests. With multilateralism and economic globalization as a background, the balance of interests determines the balance of policies. Only by adhering to the principle of equality and mutual benefit can each country maximize its potential.

Ideology should not affect nation-to-nation relations. The best way is to seek common interests while shelfing differences.

But sometimes it is not easy to avoid the clash of interests among nations. The best way to solve territorial disputes is to shelf them and join hands in development.

Asian's co-operation will reach beyond its borders. The Asia Europe Meeting, with its 39 members, has become a new silk road for Asian and European nations.

China as one of the largest countries in Asia has been taking the road of peace and development, being friendly with neighbours and demonstrating integrity. Any unbiased person will come to the conclusion that China is sincere in its desire for peace and growth and the "China threat" is groundless.

An Asia characterized by weakness, poverty and disunity has gone. Some have said that the 21st century is the Asia-Pacific century; while others claim that, as far as economic growth is concerned, it is the Asia century.

These are not all flattering remarks.

An ancient Asia is walking towards a revival, and a new Asia is rising. We have full confidence in its future.

(China Daily 05/19/2005 page4)

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