My students were pleasantly surprised two years ago after attending a lecture
by General Xiong Guangkai, then deputy chief of Staff of the People's Liberation
Army, at Tsinghua University.
Xiong Guangkai salutes the audience during a
speech at the China Science and Humanity Forum in 2003. The general
incisively analyzes complicated international relations issues. [Yang
Shen] |
One student asked me why Xiong talked
so much like a scholar. I answered, "Because the general is a scholar."
In China today, an increasing number of its high-ranking military officers
are well-qualified academically, and Xiong is one of their outstanding
representatives.
Just recently, another of Xiong's books, entitled "International Situation
and Security Strategy," has been published. It is a selection of his speeches
and articles on the subject during the past two years and more.
As one who has been engaged in the study of China's international strategy
over a long period of time, Xiong, in his writing, combines his strategic
thinking with first-hand experiences in the field. And, summing up the latest
developments in the international situation, he sheds much light on China's
security strategy in accordance with its overall peaceful development strategy.
The book is first of all a summarization of the current international and
regional situation. It deals with a key issue in China's internal strategic
studies, for example, how should we evaluate the international situation.
After the end of the Cold War, the international situation has gone through
profound changes with the intermingling of traditional security factors and the
non-traditional ones.
Therefore, a precise and timely understanding of its characteristics not only
has much bearing on China's overall strategy of peaceful development, but also
ensures a stable environment for the execution of its internal and foreign
policies.
That is why how to define the international situation is the concern of both
researchers and practitioners of international strategy and a key problem which
must be resolved if the country is to develop. Only when we have answered this
question can we face the fast-changing international situation with a clear
mind.
The author has long been studying international strategy and, being in the
ranks of policy decision-makers, has a clear understanding of the rules and
intricacies of international strategy.
Hence, the second major question the book needs to answer is: What should
China do now, as a major and responsible developing country confronted with the
current international situation?
This may well be the core of China's security strategy.
From 1929, when the Englishman Liddell Hart first published his "Grand
Strategy," to the post-Cold War contributions made by scholars of many countries
to the concept of security strategy, national security has become an essential
concern of major power diplomacy.
On the strategic level, national security has become a matter of concern for
the decision-makers, the media and the general public.
In fact, in the author's professional life, he has played a significant role
in the mechanism of many bilateral defence consultations as well as of
multilateral co-operation such as the Shanghai Co-operation Organization. In
this book, readers will find answers to the question.
Interestingly, Xiong goes beyond the questions of how and what. He raises
questions for all who are interested in and concerned with the international
situation and China's security strategy.
That is to say, in what direction will the international situation develop
and what kind of expectations can China envisage for its security strategy in
accordance with the trends of the international situation.
If the responsibility of journalist is to record what is happening now, then
the major task of the strategist is to analyze and predict what might happen in
the future, and thereby help the country make adequate preparations for all
eventualities.
There are certain patterns in the general trend of development of the
international situation. Only through a profound and cool-headed analysis of
past developments in the international security situation can there be the kind
of far-sighted analysis and predictions made by Xiong in his book.
That is what makes the book doubly valuable.
Another notable feature of the book is its analysis of the strategic
situation of different countries and regions of the world and China's views on
the issues of its regional and functional security.
China's diplomacy in relation to the major powers and her neighbours are two
major aspects of the country's foreign affairs. They are also an important
component of China's security strategy. The book's expositions on these concrete
issues help us have a deeper understanding of China's security strategy and add
to its reference value.
Through his rational and precise analysis of the three aspects listed above,
Xiong has presented in his book an image of China as a responsible power in the
21st Century, not a "threat" as the Pentagon repeatedly preaches.
The fact that China is able to take part in international dialogues and
become an important force upholding international security both represents the
country's development and strength and the understanding and trust it has gained
from the international community.
As mentioned earlier, deep down the general is a scholar. He is not only
adept at strategic studies but also well versed in serious scholarship in
general.
That explains the profundity of the ideas presented in his book. Chinese
international strategy specialists, as represented by Xiong, have far-sighted
strategic considerations as well as scholarly qualifications. They are thus able
to present their thoughts in their books to the benefit of the reading public.
Like its predecessor "International Strategy and Revolutionary Military
Affairs," the current book adopts a new form of scholarly publication in China
in so far as it has both the Chinese and the English versions in one book,
making the two simultaneously available to readers at home and abroad.
For Chinese readers, while helping them understand the international
environment the country faces and China's national security strategy, the book
also provides them with relevant English-language reading material.
For officials and scholars abroad who are interested in China's national
security strategy, the book enables them to peruse first-hand material on the
subject.
The English translation is authoritative and readable. It is edited by two
veteran Chinese translators, Lin Wusun, former president of the China
International Publishing Group and advisor to the Translation Association of
China, and his wife Zhang Qingnian, former director of the English Department of
China Radio International.
(China Daily 05/31/2006 page14)
