China faces diplomatic challenges in 2012

Instability and uncertainty loom large as the world enters 2012, a year in which China should play an even greater role in global affairs, said Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.

In a statement posted on the website of the Foreign Ministry on Monday night, Yang said that "The growth and demise of global forces, shifts and adjustments in the international system, as well as tensions in and interactions of global relations will unfold on deeper levels."

This year will witness an enormous amount of changes around the world, as elections are due in the United States, Russia, France and the Republic of Korea. The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China is also scheduled to be held this year.

While concluding that, for China, opportunities overwhelm challenges in 2012, Yang called for efforts to create "a better external environment" by adhering to the path of peaceful development.

These include doing "more pertinent work with countries where elections are to be held, and avoiding disruption to bilateral relations due to their domestic political factors", the statement said.

The country should deepen communication with the US through existing channels of dialogue to avoid strategic misjudgments, and in turn ensure peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, said Ren Yuanzhe, a researcher with the department of diplomacy at China Foreign Affairs University.

Resolving outstanding issues with its neighbors, meanwhile, will be the top concern for Chinese diplomacy in 2012, Ren said.

Looking back, Yang said 2011 saw "extremely profound and complicated changes" in the global arena.

These ranged from flaws in global economic governance as reflected by the intensifying global financial crisis, to regional clashes and tensions and the rising strategic influence of the Asia-Pacific, where growing input by competing forces has complicated interregional dynamics.

In his statement, Yang said mechanisms to boost mutually beneficial cooperation with neighboring countries will be improved to enhance trust, dispel suspicion and stabilize the region.

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