China and Harmonious Society

Attended a talk this week by Prof. Qin Yaqing (秦亚青) and a few thoughts that I took away with me:

- China's initial quest for a harmonious society has now been extended into the global arena. Beijing sees the extension as a logical one and a natural progression. It sees value in cooperating with the international system, as well as major and other players. After all, China has been beneficiary, participant, defender - and in time to come, reformer - of the international system.

- China will become a full member of the international society, and will undertake greater diplomatic efforts to avoid and resolve conflicts. Hence, Sino-U.S. cooperation will be crucial in creating a more harmonious world.

- A harmonious world of course does not exist, hence China's desire to create one!

- In reply to a question as to why the answer to "Who is China?" should not be "the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Qin's reply was that CCP is not the same as it was 50 or even several years ago, and that the Party had been evolving. (You know, I would have answered exactly the same way.)