中國不視自己為“超級大國”

萬吉祥　李國榮

(China Daily) From hosting the Olympics to the planned launch of the Shenzhou VII manned spacecraft, many Chinese are seeing the year as one with national achievements they can be proud of.

Still, despite booming economic growth and influence over the past three decades, many Chinese do not consider the country a world superpower, a recent survey has showed.

The survey, by social research company Horizon Research, polled more than 3,000 residents in 10 cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Close to 60 percent of those polled thought the country should strengthen collaboration with international organizations or other countries in a wide range of global issues—as a supporter or coordinator rather than a leader.

About six in 10 said they did not consider the country as a superpower, while about 22 percent said the country will never become one.

Another 20 percent said the countrys journey to becoming a superpower would take more than two decades.

“It is a very normal attitude among Chinese citizens, to actively participate in international affairs, but not necessarily to do so as the leader,” said Wang Yizhou, deputy director of the Institute of World Economics and Politics under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).

“The Chinese people wish for their government to work with other countries to achieve global objectives, but they dont want to become the flag-raiser.”

Wang said such a mentality is a legacy of former State leader Deng Xiaoping, whose foreign policy, put forward three decades ago when the country started on its opening-up and reform, has been carried on by his successors.

“According to Dengs theory, when it comes to foreign policies, China is to participate, not to lead, not to have enemies,” Wang said.

The approach has had profound influence on many Chinese politicians, think tanks and the public, Wang added.

However, what has changed is the level and scale of fields that the country has participated in on the global stage, given its development into an economic power from one of the worlds poorest countries, Wang said.

The countrys overseas presence and interests are gradually expanding as well, Wang said.

Chinese overseas students, for instance, account for one-seventh of the worlds total number of overseas students, while the number of outbound tourists keeps rising, he said.

“China has become more visible on the global stage,” he said.

Global concerns such as climate change and the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula have shown that the views of Beijing and its willingness to act on them have become prerequisites to any solution, Wang said.

This trend has in turn raised the global vision and awareness of the Chinese, the expert said.

“This is a time when China is expected to play a larger role in many global issues,” Wang said.

At the same time, experts said the survey has shown that more should be involved in assessing the power and influence of a country.

Yan Xuetong, head of the Institute of International Studies at Tsinghua University, said an accurate assessment of a countrys power depends on its economic, military and political spheres, in addition to its cultural and intellectual prowess.

While there was no doubt that the country had risen to become an economic power in the past two decades, its military force has been weakened in that time and its political clout, if analyzed from its global influence, has come to a standstill, Yan said.

As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, China should help maintain world peace, strengthen its democracy and seek prosperity for its own people, said Wang Yusheng, a Beijing-based researcher of international relations.

“Labeling China as a superpower is not in line with the countrys goals,” he said.

從舉辦奧運會到計劃發(fā)射的神舟七號載人航天飛船，很多中國人把今年看作是國家取得令他們引以為豪的成就的一年。

然而，近來的一次民意調(diào)查顯示：盡管在過去的三十年里中國經(jīng)濟蒸蒸日上，國際影響力大幅提高，很多中國人并沒有把中國視作世界上的超級大國。

這次由水平研究這個社會研究公司進行的調(diào)研對包括北京、上海、廣州在內(nèi)的十個城市的3，000多居民進行了調(diào)查。

在所有的調(diào)查對象中，近六成的人認為，中國應當以支持者或協(xié)作者的身份，而不是領導者的身份，在全球問題的廣泛范圍內(nèi)加強同國際組織和其他國家之間的合作。

大約六成人的表示，他們沒有把中國視作超級大國，而約22%的人表示，中國永遠都不會成為超級大國。

另外20%的人表示，中國成為超級大國還需要20多年時間。

中國社科院世界經(jīng)濟與政治研究所副所長王逸舟說：“積極地、但沒有必要以領導者的身份參與國際事務是中國民眾中一種非常普遍的態(tài)度。

“中國人民希望他們的政府同其他國家一道實現(xiàn)全球目標，但他們不想成為扛大旗者?！?/p>

王逸舟表示，這種心態(tài)是中國前領導人鄧小平留下的遺產(chǎn)。他在三十年前中國剛剛開始改革開放時所提出的外交政策，由他的繼任者繼續(xù)執(zhí)行。

他說：“根據(jù)鄧小平理論，當涉及外交政策時，中國的立場是積極參與，不當領導，不樹敵。”

王還表示，這一外交策略對很多的中國政界人士、智囊團以及廣大民眾有著深刻的影響。

然而，他認為，如果考慮到中國從世界上最貧窮的國家之一發(fā)展成為一個經(jīng)濟大國，中國在世界舞臺上所參與領域的級別和規(guī)模已經(jīng)發(fā)生了變化。

他指出，中國在海外的存在和利益也在逐漸地擴大。

譬如，中國留學生數(shù)量占世界留學生總量的七分之一，同時出境游客數(shù)量也在持續(xù)增長。

他說：“中國在全球舞臺上越來越受人矚目?！?/p>

他表示，全球關注的問題，如氣候變化、朝鮮半島核問題等已經(jīng)表明，中國政府的觀點和它對這些問題采取行動的意愿成了任何解決方案的前提。

這位專家說，這一趨勢反過來又提升了中國民眾的全球視野和意識。

王逸舟還說：“這是中國被期望在很多全球問題上發(fā)揮更大作用的時期?！?/p>

盡管如此，一些專家表示，這次調(diào)查表明，在對一個國家的實力和影響力評估中應涉及更多的因素。

清華大學國際關系研究所所長嚴學通指出，準確評估一個國家的國力取決于它的經(jīng)濟、軍事、政治等領域，以及這個國家的文化和知識才能。

他說，毫無疑問中國在過去的二十年中已經(jīng)上升成為一個經(jīng)濟大國，但與此同時它的軍事力量相對減弱，如果從對全球的影響分析，它的政治影響也沒有變化。

來自北京的國際關系研究員王玉生說，作為聯(lián)合國安理會常任理事國，中國應當幫助維護世界和平，加強自身民主建設，為中國人民謀求繁榮。

他說：“給中國貼上超級大國的標簽是同這個國家的目標相違背的?！?/p>