#Politics Op-Ed: China lion awake, but not scaring When Napoleon Bonaparte called China a sleeping lion two centuries ago, the legendary conqueror feared that when the lion wakes, she will shake the world. The late Emperor of France was partly right in his prophesy since China has awakened, as declared by President Xi Jinping in his April trip to Europe, but he was wrong in his fear. With a population of 1.3 billion and an economy ranked 2nd in the world, now almost every step of China has a global impact. But rather than shaking the world, the awakened lion is embracing the world and contributing to global peace and prosperity with its rising capacity. An evident sign of the Asian giants growing engagement with the world is the frequent overseas visits by top Chinese leaders, as this year witnessed a busy diplomatic schedule packed with seven overseas tours by Xi and five by Premier Li Keqiang. In fact, the two leaders have altogether traveled abroad for 19 times and set foot on more than 50 countries across five continents since they came into office in March 2013. The extensive global outreach was featured with a strong political will to upgrade ties, lucrative deals to expand trade, touching moments of people-to-people contacts, and more importantly, Chinas determination to engage with the world. By rolling out new concepts such as the Chinese dream and the community of common destiny, China is forging a new diplomatic philosophy; by taking new initiatives like new type of major-country relationship and the One Belt and One Road, China is trying to help shape a new world where everybody is a winner. For more, visit: t.cn/RZwM8Ok
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 13:14:59 +0000