The globe today has been alive with interesting phenomena with a multitude of forums, symposiums or meetings of all descriptions, which focus on some vital issues that have emerged in succession around the world. These gatherings discuss such global issues currently facing the humanity as climate change, energy security, renewable energy, environmental deterioration, epidemic diseases, transnational organized crimes, terrorism, and weapons of mass destruction.
In essence, participants at these symposiums concentrate themselves on the top issue, namely, the topic of where the world is heading for. This is perhaps the first phenomenon that has occurred in human history. So the very question of where the world is heading for was up to them to decide for a fairly long historical period of time; the destiny of small and week nations has been dominated or determined by a few big and strong powers, and those weak, small nations had only to accept reality. Such an era is probably coming to an end. This is a proof in the evidence that forums or meetings of all types have focused on the issue of where the world would head for.
In varied, above-mentioned symposiums, as I notice, there are more occasions in which people in China have invited to attend, as all forum partakers are eager to hear views of the Chinese. Since the early days in the wake of its inexorable rise, China has currently had more say in global affairs, and this poses an encouraging phenomenon to see. So, on the previously-cited cases, Chinese had to firmly defend and develop their national interests, while taking into account the common interests of the humanity, so as to scale the moral commanding height.
Then, what is the moral commanding height? The moral height should gear to the common interests of the entire humanity instead of seeking partial interests of a given region, a given state, or a given portion of people.
If some people insist on referring the interests of their nation as the common interests of humanity, this notion would be very hard for the world to accept. In hoisting their banner of "democracy and human rights" since the end of cold war, some Western nations have been bent on to seek their own interests or that of some Western countries but, as a matter of fact, they have suffered setbacks with their practices.
Either a nation's parochial interests or the global common interests brook no avoidance, nevertheless. Looking around the contemporary world, every nation is practically working to seek, safeguard and develop its own interests, and this motive of course gives little cause of criticism. Along with China's rise, the world has paid greater and closer attention and attaches more importance to the Chinese nation. In such circumstances, people in China not only consider their own national interests but global interests or the common interests of humanity as well.
If an individual person cares about only his own interests without sharing with others, he would probably not be welcome or endorsed by others. This situation is also true to a nation.
"China cannot develop in isolation from the rest of the world, nor can the world enjoy prosperity and stability without China," declared Hu Jintao, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, in his keynote speech delivered at the 17th CPC National Congress on October 15, 2007. This thesis of Hu's is entirely correct and in strict compliance with China's concrete national conditions.
In other words, China's national interests should be deliberated from a broader and more wide-ranging global perspective, since the nation's interests and that of the world are interconnected so closely that they are inseparable from each other from a wide range of aspects.
In the present international situation, we should possibly need to carry forward a fine Chinese tradition, that is, not only to pay heed to the interests of the Chinese nation but also the common interests of the humanity and closely integrate patriotism and internationalism. In so doing, China could be in an invincible position and so its emergence would not only benefit the Chinese people but all humanity.
By Wu Jianmin, an especially-invited PD guest commentator, vice-president of the European Academy of Sciences, Arts and Humanities, and an ace professor at China's elite Foreign Affairs University in Beijing, tranlated by People's Daily Online
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