White Paper on China's Peaceful Development Path

In September 2011, the Information Office of the State Council issued the "Second White Paper on China's Path of Peaceful Development". “China's Path of Peaceful Development”, which was issued in December 2005, was the first white paper.

The Reform and Opening-up implemented in the late 1970s enabled China to gradually and successfully embark on a development path suited to its national conditions and the characteristics of the times. At the beginning of the 21st century, with China's sustained and rapid development, the international community has paid more and more attention to what kind of development path China will take and what kind of impact China's development will have on the world. In this regard, the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government have clearly demonstrated to the world through various forms and practical actions that China has chosen and will continue to adhere to the path of peaceful development.

The first “White Paper” enunciates why China must follow the path of peaceful development, what contribution China's development makes to the progress of human society, what China relies on to achieve peaceful development, how China can work with other countries for mutual benefit and win-win, and how China can promote the construction of a harmonious world, firmly declaring to the world that China insists on following the path of peaceful development.

The second “White Paper” of 2011 further enunciates China's position, determination and responsibility to adhere to the path of peaceful development in the light of the new situation and in the face of new concerns of the international community.

(1) The opening up of China's path of peaceful development. The “White Paper “defines the characteristics of the "path of peaceful development" from six aspects: Firstly, scientific development, i.e., human-centered, comprehensive, coordinated, sustainable and balanced development; Secondly, autonomous development, i.e., putting the base and focus of national development at home and not transferring problems and conflicts to other countries; Thirdly, open development, i.e., combining the two domestic and international markets and resources for development; Fourthly, peaceful development, i.e., creating a peaceful and stable international environment for national development and making due contributions to world development; Fifthly, cooperative development, i.e., seeking peace, promoting development and resolving disputes through cooperation; Sixthly, common development, i.e., striving to achieve positive and benign interaction with the development of other countries while pursuing one's own development.

(2) Overall objective of China's peaceful development. The “White Paper” clearly points out that the overall objective of China's peaceful development is the modernization of the country and the common prosperity of the people. The medium and long-term goal is to build a well-off society of a higher level benefiting more than a billion people in an all-round way. The short and medium-term objective is to achieve the Twelfth Five-Year Plan. The “White Paper” stresses that China will accelerate the transformation of its economic development mode, further tap its own resources and market advantages, protect the legitimate rights and interests of foreign investment in China, create a fair and orderly investment environment, and focus on improving the livelihood of the host country and enhancing its ability to develop independently, and assume corresponding responsibilities and obligations.

(3) China's foreign policy for peaceful development. The “White Paper” points out that China's foreign policy for peaceful development is to promote the building of a harmonious world, adhere to an independent foreign policy of peace, advocate a new security concept of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and cooperation, uphold a positive and promising concept of international responsibility, and pursue a good-neighborly and friendly concept of regional cooperation. It points out that China's core interests include sovereign independence, territorial integrity, national unity, national political system and social stability, and the basic guarantee of sustainable economic and social development. It expounded how to realize the new security concept of "mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and cooperation" from three aspects of comprehensive security, common security and cooperative security.

(4) China's peaceful development is the inevitable choice of history. The “White Paper” stresses that the path of peaceful development is the strategic choice made by the Chinese government and people to inherit the excellent tradition of Chinese culture, in accordance with the development trend of the times and the fundamental interests of China, and is the inherent need of China's development.

(5) The significance of China's peaceful development for the world. The “White Paper” pointed out that China's peaceful development has broken the traditional pattern of the rise of big powers, which is "strong countries should be hegemonic"; China's peaceful development will push the international balance of power in a relatively balanced direction, bringing more opportunities to the world.

The “White Paper” clearly answers questions about what strategic goals China pursues and what China's development means to the world, and other domestic and foreign concerns and even questions, not only deepened the understanding of international relations, the changing international security landscape, and the common interests and values of mankind in the 21st century, enriched and developed the Sinicized Marxist theory of international relations, but also further advanced China's great practice of peaceful development.