From The International Tribune, via A Glimpse of the World:
During his visit to the United States, China’s Hu Jintao will work hard to convey a message that is emerging as a central theme of his presidency: His country is not a threat to the United States; indeed, it doesn’t even wish to be seen as a challenger.
In the recent past, China’s leaders have struggled over how best to convey this thought, issuing tortured slogans like “peaceful rise,” for example, that are adopted and dropped with equal ambivalence.
The message coming from Beijing these days is that the country’s leadership is so preoccupied with domestic problems that it has neither the time nor the inclination to challenge America’s lingering pre-eminence.
A word to the wise: don’t believe it.
See also “Hu: China seeks peaceful development” from People’s Daily (link).
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