Yearender: World Situation: Relatively Calm in 2000

As the last year of the 20th century is drawing to a close, people can breathe a sigh of relief: the world situation in 2000 has been relatively calm, without witnessing flames of war of the magnitude of the Kosovo conflict in 1999.

And the outgoing year also saw no financial turmoil like the one which flared up in Southeast Asia in 1997 and had repercussions all over the world.

Nevertheless, the world is far from tranquil and is by no means a heaven free from concerns and apprehensions.

BIG POWERS' RELATIONS: MORE COOPERATIVE

The relations between Russia and the United States and those between Russia and Europe suffered a serious setback in 1999 following the bombardment of Yugoslavia by the US-led NATO, which dented Russia's strategic sphere. But after Vladimir Putin assumed the Russian presidency at the beginning of the year, the US and some of its European allies seized the opportunity by making conciliatory gestures. Putin responded by adopting a series of fence-mending diplomatic moves, putting these damaged relations back on track.

With regard to the Russia-Japan relations, while no solution to their long-running territorial dispute is in the offing, headway has been made in trade and economic cooperation between the two countries during the year.

The China-US relations, which plummeted to rock bottom when the US-led NATO launched a missile attack on the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia in May last year, were back on track again after more than one year of efforts.

U.S. President Bill Clinton signed a bill into law in October on granting permanent normal trade relations status to China, which is in keeping with the common interests of the two peoples and is conducive to the steady development of Sino-American relations.

The strategic partnership between China and Russia was further strengthened and elevated in 2000, while China made further progress in the development of its relations with the European Union and Japan, as both sides followed the principle of seeking common grounds while reserving differences.

And the alliance between the US and the EU and that between the US and Japan remained firm despite repeated frictions over trade issues.

WORLD CONTINUES MOVING TOWARDS MULTI-POLARITY

The US continued to seek its absolute supremacy in world political, economic and military spheres, but its wanton ambition for a unipolar world was reined in, as the majority of countries in the world, including big powers, have voiced their strong opposition against it.

China and Russia are among those countries striving for the multi-polarization of the world. Even some of Washington's Western allies also, openly or privately, rejected the idea of a unipolar world which features the dominance of a sole superpower, and

called for a multi-polar world. In the face of public wrath in the world, Washington was forced to shelve its plans for a national

missile defense system.

The US pokes into international affairs anywhere in the world only to see its hands getting weak. For example, to Washington's great embarrassment, one country after another opened commercial and transportation links with Iraq in the course of the year, in defiance of the sanctions strongly advocated by the US and Britain.

Washington once boasted that the war in Kosovo had set a "precedent" for its neo-interventionism, but later had to modify its remark by saying that the Kosovo mode was not a "precedent" but a "special case."

REGIONAL TENSIONS OVERALL REDUCED

Regional conflicts and hot spots largely calmed down in the year 2000. The situation on the Korean Peninsular, which had been gripped by hostility over half a century, experienced a breakthrough in mid-June when the top leaders of the north and the south of the peninsular held a historical summit in Pyongyang declaring an end to confrontation and the arrival of a new era of reconciliation and cooperation.

The two sides then took practical measures to facilitate contacts, exchange and cooperation in various fields. Difficulties and twists may lie ahead, but the general trend of reconciliation on the peninsular cannot be reversed, political analysis say.

The situation on the Balkans became more stable. The efforts of the new leaders of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia for the country to return to the international community met positive responses. In South Asia, the dispute over the Kashmir issue between India and Pakistan remains unresolved, while in Africa, some war-torn countries have seen the dawn of peace.

The Mideast peace process experienced violent ups and downs this year. Bloody clashes between Palestinians and Israelis since September served to interrupt the peace talks which had already reported some progress.

But the situation in the Middle East as a whole is not getting out of control and the blood-letting is unlikely to develop into a large-scale regional conflict, for both Palestinians and Israelis -- leaders and ordinary people alike -- are loath to see a return to an era of war and terror.

The US also wants the two sides to end clashes and continue the peace talks. The international community has been making efforts to mediate between the two sides to help reopen the peace talks between Palestine and Israel.

ROBUST GROWTH IN WORLD ECONOMY, RICH-POOR GAP WIDENS

Most countries and regions in the world recorded faster economic growth in the year. The International Monetary Fund predicted that in 2000, the world's economy would grow by 4.7 percent, the highest in the last 10 years. Developed countries would register a growth of 4.2 percent, developing nations 5.6 percent, Europe 3.5 percent, Asia 6.7 percent, Africa 3.4 percent, and Latin America and the Caribbean 4 percent. And what is noticeable is the US economy has registered growth for a record 117 consecutive months by the end of 2000.

Despite the development of the world economy, the disparity between rich and poor countries is becoming wider. According to World Bank statistics, low-income countries account for more than half of the world's population, but their combined GDP is only 6 percent of the world's total. In contrast, developed countries account for only one-sixth of the world's population but have 80 percent of the global GDP.

The rapid development of information technology also contributed to the widening gap, including the so-called "digital divide," between developing and developed countries. To basically reverse the trend, concerted efforts from both developing and developed countries are needed to change the old unjust and inequitable international economic order and to replace it with a new international economic order based on equality, cooperation and common development.

The world is on the threshold of the 21st century. People have every reason to believe that in the coming new year, the world situation will continue to demonstrate a trend of overall relaxation with regional turbulence, and the prospects of the world economy will remain as good.






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