The working group talks ahead of a new round of six-party talks are to start on March 17, only one day after the conclusion of the annual full session of the National People's Congress (NPC) in which legislators examine and decide major policies on internal affairs and diplomacy.

The talks are only a small part of the diplomatic events that China will take part in this year, in the course of China's endeavors to advocate the building of a harmonious world on the international stage and a harmonious society within the nation.

At the NPC session, the Chinese government named a number of important tasks: sound and fast economic development, energy- saving and emission reduction, the building of new socialist countryside, among others. Observers say these tasks are arduous and will take time and efforts.

It is obvious that China is faced with both opportunities and challenges. China needs a peaceful and stable environment for its development.

During a government work report delivered at the opening of the NPC session, Premier Wen Jiabao said, "Taking both the international and domestic situations into consideration, during the last year we actively advocated the building of a harmonious world, promoted comprehensive development of our relations with other countries."

"A harmonious world and a harmonious country are complementary to each other. Domestic development will benefit global peace and interests, while a harmonious world provides an idea room for the building of social harmony," said NPC deputy Peng Zhenqiu, who is also vice president of Shanghai Socialist Academy.

Last year, China's GDP reached 20.94 trillion yuan, up 10.7 percent from the year before. Its foreign exchange reserves exceeded one trillion U.S. dollars for the first time. The income of the masses saw a steady growth.

The nation also made great diplomatic achievements last year, featuring the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, the commemorative summit marking the 15th anniversary of the dialogue partnership between China and the ASEAN, the Sino-U.S. strategic economic dialogue, and others.

China puts consultations at a strategic level to boost the exchange of opinions between nations. While Chinese lawmakers gathered in Beijing for the annual full session, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson visited China in preparation for the second round of the China-U.S. Strategic Economic Dialogue scheduled for May in Washington.

However, China's diplomacy may be strained by trade surplus, RMB exchange rate, intellectual property rights, etc. In the meantime, economic friction may become political. In fact, issues like trade surplus are also widely discussed at the NPC session.

In the face of China's 140-billion-dollar trade surplus with the United States, some U.S. lawmakers proposed a 27.5 percent increase in tariffs on all Chinese goods and suggested the most- favored-nation treatment for China be revoked, unless China makes major reforms and changes on foreign exchange policies. Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai labeled the proposed tariff increase as destructive to healthy bilateral trade.

China faces a world that "is very complicated, full of all kinds of challenges and contains different standards," said Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing at a press conference on the sidelines of the NPC session.

In diplomacy, China is committed to promoting peaceful coexistence, equal treatment to each other, mutually beneficial cooperation, and common development, Li added.

Professor Liu Jianfei with the Party School of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee said China must stick to peaceful development while promoting a harmonious world, which is the basic idea of China in getting along with other parts of the world.

"Peace is the base of harmony, a world without peace is definitely non-harmonious," Liu said.

Chinese leaders will pay more visits to foreign countries this year, to make friends, enhance trust and clear doubts. President Hu Jintao will visit Russia again, Premier Wen Jiabao will visit Japan in April, which will be the first of a Chinese premier to Japan in seven years. Li Changchun, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, will visit four Latin-American nations.

"More high-level visits are on the agenda," an official with the Foreign Ministry told Xinhua.

Source: Xinhua