At a group study session held on January 28, 2013 with members of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, stressed that sticking to the path of peaceful development is a strategic choice in accordance with the growth trend of the age and China’s fundamental interests.

The international community spoke positively of Xi’s speech, and believed that China’s peaceful development path will not only benefit its neighboring countries, but also contribute to world prosperity.

Global prosperity and stability represent an opportunity for China, while its development represents an opportunity for the world.

Xi said that the success of a peaceful path of development will depend on the utilization of opportunities that exist for both sides. Through sound interaction, China will open up a path for advancement.

Maestro, a Spanish expert on China issues, told People’s Daily that peaceful development, a key word of Chinese diplomacy, was not just a slogan, but meant concrete measures, which had been well received by the international community.

He added that China had always treated all other countries on an equal basis and unswervingly adhered to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. It was safe to say that China had blazed a new path in handling international relations and had achieved fruitful results.

“The peaceful development path chosen by the new generation of central leadership will benefit both China and the whole world,” said Maestro.

Paluk, a scholar from University of South Africa, noted that Xi’s emphasis on peaceful development was conducive to settle differences, boost the world’s confidenceto China and fundamentally safeguard its strategic interests.

He believed China, as a major force for peace, would benefit the whole world by sticking to the peaceful development path.

On January 29, 2013 Indo-Asian News Service and Rediff, India’s leading portal, ran a news story on peaceful development: “China will remain on a path of peaceful development and take a more active posture in international affairs.”

Peaceful development should not be achieved by sacrificing national core interests.

In the speech, Xi said, “We will stick to the road of peaceful development, but will never give up our legitimate rights and will never sacrifice our national core interests.”

“No country should presume that we will engage in trade involving our core interests or that we will swallow the ‘bitter fruit’ of harming our sovereignty, security or development interests,” he added.

According to the Spanish EFE news agency, China’s commitment to never seek hegemony and expansion had helped it establish a peaceful image, while Xi’s speech highlighted the bottom line for foreign policy, which is particularly important on issues involving China’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Cheng Bin, a senior research fellowof the Asian Studies Center at the Heritage Foundation, held that China was now confronted with disputes with its neighbors over issues like the South China Sea, and taking domestic economic development into consideration, stability was of prime importance.

“China should elaborate its “core interests” to have a positive impact on the international community,” said Cheng.

Yakov Berger,Chief Analyst at the Institute of Far-Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said Xi’s speech mentioned two major tasks—peaceful development and safeguarding national interests and sovereignty.

Xi outlined China’s goals and preferential directions in the future, and suggested China would never pursue development at the cost of sacrificing other country’s interests. He also expressed China’s stance on territorial disputes with other countries.

Ken Lieberthal, Director of the John L. Thornton China Center under Brookings Institution, told reporters that the United States and all other countries welcomed China’s statement on peaceful development and expected to see concrete actions. The United States hoped that the new Sino-U.S. bilateral relations could yield more specific results.

China will never pursue development at the cost of sacrificing other country’s interests.

“China will never pursue development at the cost of sacrificing other country’s interests. We will never benefit ourselves at others’ expense or do harm to any neighbor,” Xi said in the speech.

China will unswervingly pursue peaceful development, push forward joint growth, maintain the multilateral trade system and participate in global economic governance, he said.

On January 29, Egypt News Network commented that the Chinese Government’s reiteration on its peaceful development path mirrored its correct judgment on the current internal and external situations it faced. China’s adherence to peaceful development would not just provide a stable domestic environment for its development, but also help it get rid of unnecessary international disputes.

China’s adherence to the peaceful development path would exert a positive influence on neighboring countries and even the whole world.

Asian News International, a leading news agency based in Delhi, India commented on the group study organized by the 18th CPC Central Committee Political Bureau on January 29, saying that China’s reiteration on its adherence to the peaceful development path indicated the new generation of the central leadership had made a correct strategic judgment on the current international situations.