China keeps sober, self-conscious about status as developing country

Lavishing praise on China seems to be very fashionable these days. The miscellaneous voices have gradually highlighted their intent to declare that China is no longer a developing country. This intention has been made very direct and clear, whether by openly declaring China to be a developed country or by referring to China using new ideas such as the "G2" (referring to China and the United States as the world’s dominant) and "international liability."

Some people have tried to remove China from the category of developing countries by hyping up the fact that China is a large country and has undergone a relatively rapid development. They exaggerate China's speed of development but never mention its large population and poor foundations.

Some have even taken this opportunity and made full use of issues concerning the trade deficit, RMB exchange rate and other issues in some regions to exaggerate the conflict between China and other developing countries. They do this in order to alienate them from China, disrupt the developing countries and pull China out of that group.

The real intention of the attempt to separate China from the group of developing countries is to isolate China. The foundation of China's foreign policy is to consolidate and develop its cooperation with other developing countries. One of the aims of changing China's national attributes is to damage China's image in the international arena and shake China's foundation of developing foreign relations.

It is an undisputed fact and a scientific judgment that China is a developing country. China is still a typical developing country despite the rapid development in recent years. Based on the standard of per capita GDP, China is even poorer than many other developing countries.

China and many developing counties have similar experiences in history. China deeply understands the key points of the current problems in international relations and always considers and deals with the issues regarding world peace and development from a developing country’s point of view.

In the process of pursuing the democratization of international relations and a better international economic and political order, China has always firmly safeguarded developing countries' interests. On multilateral diplomatic platforms such as United Nations Security Council and G20, China has always spoken for developing countries and has played a very important and constructive role.

China once suffered a lot in its own development process. Therefore, it fully understands the difficulties and hardships faced by developing countries and understands the importance of strengthening the cooperation among developing countries. China always makes every effort to develop the relations between itself and other developing countries and has also advocated many principles including "sticking together in bad times," "supporting each other," "respecting each other," "treating each other equally" and "developing together," which are widely accepted among developed countries.

China's international influence today is inseparable from its consistent support of developing countries. China has always considered developing countries as "its own side." Although more than 100 million people in China still live under the poverty line according to international standards, China has made selfless contributions to international development and humanitarian aid. China provided the largest amount of foreign aid among developing countries.

Although China suffered several major natural disasters in 2010, China still aided hard-hit countries such as Pakistan, Russia and North Korea, and provided material and financial assistance within its ability in a timely fashion. China has consideration for hard-hit countries and has provided needed aid for them. Therefore, China's quick response and resolute action received high recognition and praise from recipient countries.

In today's world, the international political and economic situation is undergoing profound changes, and the influence of developing countries continues to increase. China, as the largest developing country in the world, has a clear understanding of its nature as a developing country and has always taken enhancing solidarity and cooperation with developing countries as the foundation of its foreign policy. This clear understanding and consciousness will not change simply because certain Western countries and media have lavishly praised China.

By People's Daily Online