The Nobel Committee awarded US President Barack Obama a Peace Prize for inspiring the world with hope and steering the US back to multilateralism and re-engagement with the global community. This decision stirred up a wave of debates both in and outside of the US.

If the objective of the award was to incentivize good policies, another potentially controversial but perhaps more compelling recipient of the award is the leader of another large country that is rapidly evolving in a positive direction - China's President Hu Jintao.

Under Hu's leadership in the past seven years, China has successfully transformed itself into a new global powerhouse with significant influence economically, strategically, politically and culturally. Against all odds, it appears that Hu is directing China to assume this new role with a great deal of dignity and conscience. A lot of Hu's efforts have gone unnoticed or have been brushed aside for ideological reasons. Let's review some of his accomplishments and contributions to date.