e-magazine
Quake Shocks Sichuan
Nation demonstrates progress in dealing with severe disaster
Current Issue
· Table of Contents
· Editor's Desk
· Previous Issues
· Subscribe to Mag
Subscribe Now >>
Expert's View
World
Nation
Business
Finance
Market Watch
Legal-Ease
North American Report
Forum
Government Documents
Expat's Eye
Health
Science/Technology
Lifestyle
Books
Movies
Backgrounders
Special
Photo Gallery
Blogs
Reader's Service
Learning with
'Beijing Review'
E-mail us
RSS Feeds
PDF Edition
Web-magazine
Reader's Letters
Make Beijing Review your homepage
Hot Links

cheap eyeglasses
Market Avenue
eBeijing

Reviews
Books> Reviews
UPDATED: January 30, 2007 NO.5 FEB.1, 2007
A Broader View
A new series of books presents Chinese scholars' assessment of world affairs and China’s role in them
By ZAN JIFANG
Share

A theoretical series of books entitled World Politics-Views From China has recently drawn readers' attention. Published by Beijing-based New World Press, the eight-volume series presents the views of Chinese scholars on current world affairs and international relations, with respective focuses on the international order, national interests, strategies of the great powers, China's foreign affairs, international security, non-traditional security, the world economy and global governance.

The Chinese have long believed in a philosophy of being prudent in their words and deeds. Even if they have a mature understanding of an issue, they will insist on speaking less and doing more. In the diplomatic field, this style often leaves others, who have a different background, culture and civilization, with an impression of mystery.

However, with its rapid economic growth and social progress, China has gradually established an image as an active and responsible big country in the international arena. Everyone who wants to have connections with China wonders how such a vast, populous and dynamic country treats its neighbors, the region and even the world. World Politics-Views From China provides the answers.

The series brings together 184 treatises by almost 200 Chinese scholars who are active in the academic community in China. The editor in chief of the series is Wang Jisi, Director of the School of International Studies at Peking University.

According to Wang, one of the chief editors of the eight volumes and the authors of the essays in the series are mostly middle-aged academics who are the leading figures in their fields. They are not only active in the international academic arena but also have a profound understanding of China's diplomatic thought and practice, he said.

In recent years, China has paid more attention to the communication between government departments and scholars, which means that scholars know the government's policies very well and decision-making departments are willing to listen to the views of scholars. Thus, from the papers in the series, readers can tell the basic thought in China's foreign policy and the country's general assessment of the international situation. Also, in the books readers will find very sharp views on some international issues and the collision of different opinions on the same issue.

The articles in the series are the outcome of research in the last five years by Chinese scholars and the discourse on recent international issues and problems, which provides an important reference for those who are researching China's diplomatic thinking and strategic development trend.

Wang explains that the research on international politics in China has gone through a course from focusing on a single issue to researching the general situation of the world. For example, in the early 1990s, Chinese scholars cared about the issue of what changes the disintegration of the Soviet Union would have on the international order. Even at the end of the 1990s, most Chinese scholars still paid attention to bilateral relations and bilateral incidents.

However, Wang said, in the last five years, the world situation has been relatively stable and China has not encountered a grave bilateral crisis, which has prompted Chinese scholars to carry out deeper and broader research on international issues. From a long-term perspective, the results of this research will have more historical and academic value.

In their articles, the Chinese scholars discuss world affairs in a calm manner and their opinions are objective and optimistic. Even those who stress that China faces a rather difficult international environment have not lost their confidence in China's future development.

This is the first time that China has published a large-scale series on Chinese scholars' views of world affairs and China's diplomatic policy, which not only reflects the advancement of China's academic research but also is a natural result of China's development and the progress of history, said Wang.

Experts say that the Chinese people's outlook on the world will have a huge impact on the world, and its importance should not be undervalued.

Scholars' Comments on the Series

The collection embodies the highest academic standard of China's research on international politics. The publication of the collection is very timely and the series tells about how China can look upon the world appropriately and how the world can look upon China appropriately.

-Fan Jingyi, Professor and Dean of the School of Journalism and

Communication, Tsinghua University

The 2008 Olympic Games will be a grand gathering that will enable China to exhibit its modernization and development achievements of the last 20 years. And the eight-volume World Politics-Views From China is also like a grand gathering, which lets Chinese experts on international affairs bring forth their research harvest of the past 20 years-their new and overall observations on world political theories and practices. The series is undoubtedly basic reading material for those who hope to know how the Chinese people look upon the role of China in the world arena.

-Ezra F. Vogel, Professor at Harvard University

In recent years, the importance of China in regional and global affairs has been more and more prominent, and thus the international community has paid more and more attention to the analysis and research of leading Chinese scholars on international issues. The eight-volume series is a pool of opinions and research results and has been classified according to subjects, which provides an important aid to those who study China's views.

-Kenneth Lieberthal, Professor of Politics at the University of Michigan

The essays in the series are very helpful. It is a difficult task for scholars to deeply observe and understand the external world, examine China rationally at the same time and actively explain their views and opinions to others.

-Wu Jianmin, President of the China Foreign Affairs University

China's development and its impact on the world has been a major topic of the international community; it is the responsibility of Chinese scholars to research it. The objective and profound analysis in the articles collected in the series will trigger deeper thinking on international relations, the world economy, the environment and other world issues.

-Zhao Qizheng, former Minister of the Information Office of

the State Council of China

Systematically explaining how China looks on important world affairs and theoretically expounding China's international strategy and foreign policy is an urgent task for China's publishing community. The series has undertaken this important mission, and it embodies the latest outcome of the joint efforts of the academic and publishing communities.

-Lin Wusun, former President of the China International Publishing Group and columnist of Beijing Review in the 1950s and 1960s

In the past, the rise of a big power has produced tension in international relations and even wars. In this perplexed time, it is very important for the Chinese people to make clear what the conditions of the world are and how the world views China's rise. For this reason, I am optimistic about the marketing prospects of this series.

-Hu Xijin, Editor in Chief of Global Times

That national interests are supreme is a widely accepted diplomatic norm, but the contact among countries is not a game of a cold division of interests. World Politics-Views From China will strengthen readers' understanding of current international relations and diplomatic essence.

-Lu Yansong, senior editor of People's Daily

As a work that comprises the collective wisdom of Chinese scholars, the series completely and thoroughly elaborates China's outlook on the world, which is that China's right to voice its views has been increasing and the country's "soft power' is rising, and reflects the unprecedented connection and interactive practices between contemporary China and the world.

-Zhou Shuchun, Associate Editor in Chief of Xinhua News Agency 



 
Top Story
-Too Much Money?
-Special Coverage: Economic Shift Underway
-Quake Shocks Sichuan
-Special Coverage: 7.0-Magnitude Earthquake Hits Sichuan
-A New Crop of Farmers
Most Popular
在线翻译
About BEIJINGREVIEW | About beijingreview.com | Rss Feeds | Contact us | Advertising | Subscribe & Service | Make Beijing Review your homepage
Copyright Beijing Review All right reserved