中国不视自己为“超级大国”

万吉祥　李国荣

(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.

从举办奥运会到计划发射的神舟七号载人航天飞船，很多中国人把今年看作是国家取得令他们引以为豪的成就的一年。

然而，近来的一次民意调查显示：尽管在过去的三十年里中国经济蒸蒸日上，国际影响力大幅提高，很多中国人并没有把中国视作世界上的超级大国。

这次由水平研究这个社会研究公司进行的调研对包括北京、上海、广州在内的十个城市的3，000多居民进行了调查。

在所有的调查对象中，近六成的人认为，中国应当以支持者或协作者的身份，而不是领导者的身份，在全球问题的广泛范围内加强同国际组织和其他国家之间的合作。

大约六成人的表示，他们没有把中国视作超级大国，而约22%的人表示，中国永远都不会成为超级大国。

另外20%的人表示，中国成为超级大国还需要20多年时间。

中国社科院世界经济与政治研究所副所长王逸舟说：“积极地、但没有必要以领导者的身份参与国际事务是中国民众中一种非常普遍的态度。

“中国人民希望他们的政府同其他国家一道实现全球目标，但他们不想成为扛大旗者。”

王逸舟表示，这种心态是中国前领导人邓小平留下的遗产。他在三十年前中国刚刚开始改革开放时所提出的外交政策，由他的继任者继续执行。

他说：“根据邓小平理论，当涉及外交政策时，中国的立场是积极参与，不当领导，不树敌。”

王还表示，这一外交策略对很多的中国政界人士、智囊团以及广大民众有着深刻的影响。

然而，他认为，如果考虑到中国从世界上最贫穷的国家之一发展成为一个经济大国，中国在世界舞台上所参与领域的级别和规模已经发生了变化。

他指出，中国在海外的存在和利益也在逐渐地扩大。

譬如，中国留学生数量占世界留学生总量的七分之一，同时出境游客数量也在持续增长。

他说：“中国在全球舞台上越来越受人瞩目。”

他表示，全球关注的问题，如气候变化、朝鲜半岛核问题等已经表明，中国政府的观点和它对这些问题采取行动的意愿成了任何解决方案的前提。

这位专家说，这一趋势反过来又提升了中国民众的全球视野和意识。

王逸舟还说：“这是中国被期望在很多全球问题上发挥更大作用的时期。”

尽管如此，一些专家表示，这次调查表明，在对一个国家的实力和影响力评估中应涉及更多的因素。

清华大学国际关系研究所所长严学通指出，准确评估一个国家的国力取决于它的经济、军事、政治等领域，以及这个国家的文化和知识才能。

他说，毫无疑问中国在过去的二十年中已经上升成为一个经济大国，但与此同时它的军事力量相对减弱，如果从对全球的影响分析，它的政治影响也没有变化。

来自北京的国际关系研究员王玉生说，作为联合国安理会常任理事国，中国应当帮助维护世界和平，加强自身民主建设，为中国人民谋求繁荣。

他说：“给中国贴上超级大国的标签是同这个国家的目标相违背的。”