Written by Laurence Brahm - Published by South China Morning Post on 04/20/2004

The release of the seven Chinese hostages taken in Iraq last week did more than just bring joy to their relatives. It also sent out two messages to the world. First, citizens of nations which took part in the Iraq invasion, or which are now part of the occupying force, are the targets for hostage-takers. Second, China’s delicate foreign policy of peaceful co-existence and non-conflict appears to be paying off.

The question not yet asked, however, is whether this policy is about to set a new standard in international relations for a war-ruptured world.

Can China set an example by becoming the first emerging economic superpower to sustain its rise through a foreign policy of peaceful co-existence and avoidance of international conflict? It may be too early to answer. But it is not too early to begin asking whether this approach to international relations could turn on its head existing American and British assumptions of how to police world peace.

During the early 1980s, Deng Xiaoping recognized western fears over China’s inevitable rise, and cleverly sought to develop the nation’s domestic economy by playing an introverted international role. However, China’s subsequent economic explosion bring s new pressure from both North America and Europe to be involved in, rather than avoid, international conflicts. As China’s leaders enter a new economic epoch, they seek an approach to foreign policy appropriate to the country’s stature.

The concept of “China’s peaceful rise” was first introduced by Premier Wen Jiabao last December 10, during his speech at Harvard University. “China’s development should not and will not become dependent on foreign countries,” he said, rejecting monetary dependency models exported by Washington institutions like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. “We must rely on our own strength to create new things and not rely on foreign models." Outlining policies to stimulate consumption and shift domestic savings into investments to raise standards, he added: "This is the significance of China's peaceful rise and development."

On December 26, during a memorial speech marking the 110th anniversary of Mao Zedong's birth, President Hu Jintao mirrored Mr. Wen's ideas. "We must adhere to the road of Chinese socialism which adheres to the road of peaceful -development," said Mr. Hu, choosing ' the occasion to promote "China's peaceful rise" foreign policy, rooted in Mao's earlier ideals of combining self-reliance and non-alliance.

The media finally caught on to the foreign policy shift at the National People's Congress, during a press conference on March 14, when Mr. Wen outlined how China's peaceful rise, was now "inextricable from the world". "China's rise will not interfere, threaten or sacrifice any other nation,” he said.

As America gathered a "coalition of the willing" after failing to push the United Nations into supporting its invasion of Iraq, China remained unsupportive while avoiding conflict with either side of the growing Atlantic divide.

President George W. Bush's foreign policy speech last week contrasted sharply with Mr. Wen's approach. Mr. Bush made it clear that Iraq will get US-style democracy, even if it means the elimination of many Iraqis in the process. "You are either with us or against us" will probably go down in history as the president's most famous words. Chinese, Russians and eastern Europeans know that the phrase was once uttered by Joseph Stalin in his attempt to impose by force a singular political ideology across a continent.

In the late 1950s, Hungarian reformers called for change. "If you are not our enemy, then you are with us," was the counter-cry, marking the end of Stalinism. Maybe, once again, it is time for a new outlook.

Laurence Brahm is a global activist, international mediator, political columnist and author. He is the leading advocate of a fresh development paradigm - The Himalayan Consensus - an innovative approach to development.

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