China's Peaceful Development and International Law

Author: Zhou Zhonghai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: Preface
The book "China's Peaceful Development and International Law" is one of the key projects of the Beijing Key Discipline—International Law of China University of Political Science and Law, which was approved by Beijing in 2005. It is also a major and urgent issue that needs to be deeply explored in China's peaceful development in the 21st century. Peace and development remain the themes of the era in the 21st century. Although international terrorist incidents, such as the September 11th attacks, have brought tremendous shocks to the international community and international law, in the international relations of the new century, the international community should follow the historical trend of cooperation and progress, uphold multilateralism, strengthen international cooperation, maintain common security, and achieve common development. This should be the common goal of all countries. In the new century, facing new challenges, all countries should work together to actively uphold the authority and leading role of the United Nations in international affairs. An efficient, united, and strong United Nations is the hope of the world. The issue of Iraq once again proves that abandoning the United Nations and multilateral cooperation is not feasible. As UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said at the Swiss Forum, collective international security is facing the danger of disintegration, and global security cannot be dominated by the principle of "might makes right." The danger does not only stem from terrorism but also from the methods of the anti-terrorism campaign. A renowned American legal scholar also pointed out that U.S. unilateralism will inevitably fail within a decade. Economic globalization must be replaced by sustainable development. China's two major contributions to the world in politics and economy—the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence—have become internationally recognized guiding principles of contemporary international relations. This is one of China's great contributions to the world in politics. By 2003, China's GDP had surpassed the 1.1 trillion yuan mark, ranking sixth in the world, creating a remarkable economic miracle and playing the role of a stabilizer and engine for global economic stability. This is one of China's great contributions to the world in the economic sphere. All this demonstrates an important historical fact of our time: China's "peaceful rise." The significance of China's peaceful rise lies in peace and development. The world benefits from China's sustained high-speed economic growth and from China's responsible attitude. China's development is the world's development. China's peaceful rise has already and will continue to contribute to world peace and development. However, research on international law in our country is far from matching our status as a major power. China's peaceful rise requires strengthening research on international law. The role of international law in promoting world peace and development is increasingly prominent, and countries are paying more attention to using international law to protect their rights and interests. This is a noteworthy trend in the international community. We must further strengthen research on international law. We must not only abide by and uphold international law principles but also continue to make efforts with people around the world to improve and develop international law, pushing it forward in the direction of establishing a new international political and economic order that is peaceful, stable, just, and reasonable. This is our international responsibility. China's peaceful development represents the aspirations of a new era. In the international relations of the new century, the international community should firmly grasp the themes of peace and development, follow the historical trend of cooperation and progress, uphold multilateralism, strengthen international cooperation, maintain common security, and achieve common development. China's peaceful development requires strengthening research on international law. Since the end of the Cold War, especially the Iraq War, has been a major shock to international law. Countries around the world have placed greater emphasis on the role of the United Nations and international law. In particular, it is essential to strengthen research on treaty law and its application domestically, as well as on international law topics such as the WTO, maritime law, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and space law. China's peaceful development and its integration into the world require international law and further efforts to promote the research and development of international law. As President Xiao Yang of the Supreme People's Court pointed out after China's entry into the WTO, we must strengthen research on international law, the WTO, and international intellectual property protection, and cultivate advanced international legal professionals. The process of China's peaceful development, diplomacy, and the pursuit of a peaceful international environment must attach importance to the role of international law. Research on international law in our country does not match our status as a major power. Facing many major issues, we must pay attention and make great efforts to study them. President Hu Jintao recently pointed out that correctly understanding and scientifically judging the situation is an important basis for our Party to formulate and implement correct policies and principles. In the face of profound changes in the international situation, we must seize and make good use of the strategic opportunity period, do well in reform, development, and stability, and continuously advance China's modernization, we must scientifically judge the developments and changes in the international situation, correctly respond to the trends of world multipolarity and economic globalization, as well as the development of science and technology, and properly handle various complex issues and uncertainties affecting world peace and development. This is a major issue we will face for a long time in the journey to achieve the grand goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. We need to learn more about the basic knowledge of international issues, understand more about the basic situation of the international community, observe the world with a broad perspective, and be good at strategic thinking. We must effectively improve our ability to scientifically judge the international situation, correctly grasp the trends of the times, and strive to grasp the direction of development from the interplay of international and domestic conditions, make good use of development opportunities from the transformation of international and domestic conditions, create development conditions from the complementary advantages of international and domestic resources, and master the overall development from the comprehensive impact of international and domestic factors. We must adhere to the path of peaceful rise and an independent and peaceful foreign policy, uphold the purpose of maintaining world peace and promoting common development, and maintain friendly relations with all countries on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, actively carry out exchanges and cooperation with all countries on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, and raise the banner of peace, development, and cooperation on the international stage to make greater contributions to the noble cause of human peace and development. We must adapt to the evolving trend of economic globalization and the new situation after China's entry into the WTO, speed up our understanding and skillful use of international rules and practices, and participate in international economic and technological cooperation and competition on a broader range, in wider fields, and at a higher level to optimize resource allocation and promote reform, development, and opening-up through opening-up. We must closely monitor various risks from the international economic field and actively take preventive and response measures. We must properly handle relations in the international community, strengthen and improve foreign publicity, and enhance the international community's understanding of our country. We must always put national sovereignty and security in the first place, firmly uphold national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and firmly uphold national security and fundamental interests. Starting from the general topic of China's peaceful development, we must strive to establish a new international political and economic order. We must give full play to the important role of the United Nations, uphold the principle of sovereignty, and establish a multipolar world. Overall, the current international legal system is conducive to maintaining world peace and promoting economic development. However, it should also be recognized that due to the constraints of its formation conditions and certain political factors in the international community, the international legal system also contains some unreasonable elements that need further improvement and refinement. New reasonable norms need to be established for some new situations and issues that arise in the development process of the international community. We must abide by and uphold international law principles, work together with people around the world to continue making efforts to improve and develop international law, and push it forward in the direction of establishing a new international political and economic order that is peaceful, stable, just, and reasonable. We must raise the banner of peace, development, and cooperation, unwaveringly adhere to an independent and peaceful foreign policy,,,,,。 We have conducted concentrated research and discussions over the past few years and have conducted in-depth research and bold exploration on relevant issues. Now, we have compiled the fruits of our efforts into this book and dedicated it to the readers. Professor Zhou Zhonghai July 13, 2005, Beijing