China's peaceful rise
"China's peaceful rise", currently referred to as "China's peaceful development", was an official policy and political slogan in China under former General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Hu Jintao which sought to assure the international community that China's growing political, economic, and military power would not pose a threat to international peace and security.
| China's peaceful rise | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | 中国和平崛起 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 中國和平崛起 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| China's peaceful development | |||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 中国和平发展 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 中國和平發展 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Policies and theories
Key events
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Originally formulated by Zheng Bijian as part of a Ministry of State Security (MSS) influence operation, the term characterized China as a responsible world leader that avoids unnecessary international confrontation, emphasizes soft power, and vows that China is committed to its own internal issues and improving the welfare of its own people before interfering in world affairs. Furthermore, it sought to rebut the "China threat theory" and reestablish the view of China as a non-threatening world power, as historically Chinese empires were regarded as less aggressive.
Among Chinese authorities as well as academics, there was disagreement about the term—particularly a concern that the word 'rise' might fuel perceptions that China was a threat to the current status quo. Therefore, since 2004, the term "China's peaceful development" has been used by the Chinese leadership.