Managing differences before achieving 'Asian Century'

Edited and translated by Liang Jun, People's Daily Online

Before Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's first visit to India, people have been worried that the border "tent confrontation" between China and India will cast a shadow on the visit. In fact, China and India have both will and wisdom to control their divergences.

There is no denying that China and India still have between them some difficult issues left over from history, according to an opinion column written by Premier Li published in The Hindu on Monday.

Both countries agree that the common interests between China and India far outweigh their differences; Asia's future hinges on China and India. If China and India live in harmony and prosper together, and if our two markets converge, it will be a true blessing for Asia and the world at large, Li wrote in his column.

What Premier Li wrote gave us profound inspiration on how to realize the "Asian Century".

"Asian Century" has been frequently used by world public opinion in recent years. Since 1960s and 1970s, Asian countries and regions, including Japan, "Four Little Dragons" (Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore), China and India, rose in succession. They retain the rising impetus in this century and keep fast growth under the impact of U.S. financial crisis and the E.U. debt crisis, which give the prediction that the 21st century will be "Asian Century" more supporting arguments.

But the international public opinion has never stopped questioning the "Asian Century".

Asian differences are varied from disputes on territorial sovereignty and maritime rights left over by history to products of the Cold War, national differences caused by social systems, traditional culture and economic development, as well as geopolitical conflicts.

Realizing "Asian Century" will serve the common interests of countries in the region. Differences and disputes have brought discord, conflicts and even wars and still plague many nations today. We must know only by handling differences properly, can we achieve "Asian Century", for which Asian countries need release positive energy and show great wisdom, not the vice versa.

Read the Chinese version: 管好分歧才有“亚洲世纪”

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