China's peaceful rise

"China's peaceful rise" (simplified Chinese: 中国和平崛起; traditional Chinese: 中國和平崛起; pinyin: Zhōngguó hépíng juéqǐ) or sometimes referred to as China's "peaceful development" was an official policy in China under the leadership of Hu Jintao. The term was implemented to rebut against the "China threat theory." Historically, China was regarded as a less aggressive empire. As China emerged as a great political, economic and military power, China wanted to assure other countries that its rise will not be a threat to peace and security. China implements this policy by internally harmonizing China’s society and externally, promoting a peaceful international environment. It seeks to characterize China as a responsible world leader, emphasizes soft power, and vows that China is committed to its own internal issues and improving the welfare of its own people before interfering with world affairs. The term suggests that China seeks to avoid unnecessary international confrontation.

The term proved controversial because the word 'rise' could fuel perceptions that China is a threat to the established order, so since 2004 the term China's peaceful development (simplified Chinese: 中国和平发展; traditional Chinese: 中國和平發展; pinyin: Zhōngguó hépíng fāzhǎn) has been used by the Chinese leadership.

Many of the ideas behind the effort to promote the concept of the peaceful rise of the PRC came from the new security concept, which was formulated by think tanks in the PRC in the mid-1990s.

The term itself was used in a speech given by the former Vice Principal of the Central Party School, Zheng Bijian, in late 2003 during the Boao Forum for Asia [2]. It was then reiterated by PRC premier Wen Jiabao in an ASEAN meeting as well as during his visit to the United States. It appears to be one of the first initiatives by the fourth generation of the leadership of the PRC, headed by Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao.

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