Symposium examines China's potential

Chinese Ambassador to the United Nations Wang Guangya stressed China's desire for peace in foreign affairs at the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies' inaugural China Symposium Friday.

"The peaceful rise of China with its 1.3 billion people will be neither a threat nor a hindrance" to other nations, Guangya said. "Disputes are settled through dialogue and cooperation."

The symposium, titled "Keeping the Dragon Aloft: Can a Rising China Overcome Internal and External Challenges in the 21st Century?," explored whether China will be able to sustain the economic growth it has enjoyed for the last few decades.

The day's events included a panel discussion led by four faculty members, group discussions and a film screening.

The event gave students and faculty the opportunity to engage in a dialogue with Guangya and University professors Gregory Chow, Gilbert Rozman, Eric Thun and Lynn White.

"This is what Princeton education is supposed to be — where the students themselves demand to be taught, where they get to pick the brains of those at the forefront of the field," conference participant Jean Su '05 said in an email.

This demand for dialogue was most apparent during the question-and-answer session following Guangya's prepared remarks.

Though audience members maintained a respectful tone when addressing Guangya, many made it apparent they were unsatisfied by his optimistic rhetoric. They questioned China's human rights record, relationship with the Korean peninsula and ability to gain power without becoming a hegemony.

Guangya stressed the importance of peace and diplomacy in his responses, but added that China and the United States "have different perceptions of human rights."

Earlier Friday afternoon, students heard a broad range of viewpoints during the panel discussion.

Chow, a professor of political economy and economics, argued that "in the next decade or two, China's growth will be substantial," while Thun, an assistant professor of politics and international affairs, foresaw both "promise and peril" in the future of a nation that has become "too much the world's factory."

Following the panel, the audience broke up into discussion groups to address specific issues.

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"You had students there who were genuinely interested and wanted to sincerely advance their knowledge," Su said. "You had academics – both professional academics and grad students – who wanted to converse about the issues they are passionate about."