Editor’s note: The following article is a translated blog excerpt from ifeng.com’s blog section. The author, Tian Yifeng (田一枫), argues that the war in Libya should be a wake up call for China to assess its own strategy and also to be clearer about its position in the international political sphere.

As Chinese economy is more integrated into the global economy, the country has also become more engaging in the global affairs.  For this reason, the conflict that is currently ravaging in Noth Africa's Libya has also either a direct or indirect impact on China despite the great distance between Libya and China.

After the war in Libya broke out, China began a large-scale withdrawal of its people, investing a large amount of manpower and material resources, which ultimately shocked and stunned the nation. Chinese enterprises and economic interests in Libya have already suffered from severe losses, with the total economic losses already reaching 18.8 billion USD.

One point especially worth stressing is the fact that the continuing air strikes and naval blockage carried out by the US, UK, France and other Western countries, has turned this conflict into a typical high-tech regional war. Following the war in Kosovo and Iraq, this latest war is just another excuse of Western countries to once again attack a sovereign state. It is very difficult to predict how much longer this war in Libya will continue, but one thing that China should seriously start to think about, are the lessons it can draw from conflict.

Lesson #1: The position of power hasn’t changed in the post-Cold War era; China is striving for peaceful development, to safeguard the country’s unity and to resolve territorial disputes. However, it must be established in handling the severe challenges posed by power politics and foreign intervention. Peaceful development is one of China’s fixed national policies, but the struggle over safeguarding unity and guarding its sovereign rights is a mammoth task for China to undertake during the course of its development.

Moreover, it is extremely difficult to predict the outburst of emergency situations. China cannot be afraid of situations that are likely to arise. Secondly, it must be adequately prepared; it can’t think that these situations are simply “one of their own situations”, but must be ready for the complexities of foreign participation or intervention. China must be prepared to respond to the most difficult situations that could possibly arise – this is the cardinal point of China’s future strategic plan and the country needs to be very clear on this point.

Lesson #2: The weaknesses of China’s foreign strategy are as plain as daylight, but at the same time, this strategy is very difficult to change. What is needed is a strengthening of governance and improvement in diplomacy. Moreover, China must make a choice about its economic association. Everyone knows about China’s overseas interests which are continuously expanding. However, China still lacks the relevant safeguarding means, especially the military means.

In order to protect and even to obtain overseas interests, Western countries not only have the courage to participate in “global intervention”, but they have no qualms whatsoever about using weapons. This is not the case with China. China’s social system and national character has decided not to deploy troops abroad. Even if China were to possess a long-range delivery capacity, it still wouldn’t part-take in international intervention. Under these conditions, knowing how to safeguard China’s overseas interests, has thus become a very important and real issue.

Lesson #3: China must not overestimate its position in the international sphere. China must realize its international influence during crucial times is really dependent on its comprehensive national power especially military might, since power is still the main language spoken in today’s political world. In the last few years, China has developed and become rich, making some people assume that this wealth is a license to behave aggressively and automatically gives the nation a greater right to speak out and have authority over international affairs. However, this assumption is false. In many situations, the key is knowing who’s got the “hardest fist”.

In the case of Libya, China can only express its “regret”. This reaction is a reflection of China’s true influence in the international political sphere. This is not a good manner to adapt when dealing with neighbouring problems. What’s more, the world currently lacks a common consensus on what constitutes “harmony” and the grim reality is that power stands in the way. Under such conditions, money can’t buy international influence – developing its comprehensive national power, especially its military might, is the only fundamental way for China to overcome these obstacles.

The bombs dropped on Libya by Western countries have created a new “humanitarian” disaster. At the same time, this crisis should also be a wake up call for China – compelling Chinese people to think about their own situation. If China can see this as a warning and if they can see the world, themselves and the future through clearer eyes, then perhaps China will perform better in the future. The price it has to pay and the losses that it has to endure will also be reduced as a result.
 

Source: ifeng.com
 

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Keywords: China’s response Libya war China foreign strategy Libyan war influence on China Libya war China