Processing trade accounts for half of China's massive trade volume, and exports from foreign businesses in China and Chinese-foreign joint ventures in China account for 60 percent. So any country that imposes restriction on China will eventually hurt its own business.

Cross-Straits benefits

The Chinese mainland and Taiwan have committed large amounts of time and resources to the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), a comprehensive pact that will benefit both sides of the Straits. The pact will be based on three principles: equal negotiation, mutual benefits and consideration for each other.

The agreement should also take into account the different economic and market situations of both sides, and tend to the interests of Taiwan's small and medium-sized enterprises and the people, particularly the farmers. Tariff breaks are one of the concessions the mainland can make to benefit Taiwan and its farmers.

Signing the ECFA will be a complex process, but problems will eventually be resolved since the mainland and Taiwan are brothers.

Hong Kong's future

Numerous options exist to allow Hong Kong to maintain its economic vitality and accelerate development.

First, make persistent efforts to develop Hong Kong into an international financial, shipping and trade center.

Second, press ahead with its advantageous industries—the service sector in particular.

Third, strengthen Hong Kong's economic links with the Pearl River Delta and tap into the mainland's vast markets. The economic boom on the mainland provides great potential for Hong Kong's expansion.

Fourth, Hong Kong residents should make concerted efforts to sustain stability and prosperity in the city. In addition to economic growth, Hong Kong will also gradually develop political democracy in accordance with the Basic Law.

Fifth, it is also imperative for the special administrative region to improve the livelihood of its people and take great strides to improve the educational system.

In crafting its 12th Five-Year Plan, the Central Government will also take into consideration Hong Kong's economy and canvass opinions from local residents.

Climate change

Reports have circulated that China was "arrogant" after refusing to attend a key meeting prior to the Copenhagen climate change summit late last year. It is necessary to clarify the circumstances surrounding that situation.

On December 17, 2009, at a banquet hosted by the Danish Queen, a European leader informed the Chinese delegation that China was on the list of participating countries for a meeting that would be held later that evening. The Chinese delegation was shocked, and immediately checked and confirmed that no notification had been received. Despite this, the delegation still decided to send Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei to the meeting on behalf of the Chinese delegation.

So why was China not invited to the meeting? The question remains unanswered.

At the actual summit, the Chinese delegation made arduous efforts to help reach an agreement on climate issues. At the end of January this year, after the Copenhagen conference, in respective letters to the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen, China expressed its support for the Copenhagen Accord.

So why do some people persist in pointing fingers at China?

The issue of climate change concerns the survival of all human beings, the interests of all countries, and equity and justice in the international community. So China is justified to stick to the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities," and will also work with other countries to advance global efforts in addressing climate change.

Peaceful development

In recent foreign media reports, China has been described as being full of self-confidence, or even arrogance. But that is not how China thinks of itself.

First, though the Chinese economy saw a rapid growth in recent years, the country still has problems to solve, such as uneven development between urban and rural areas and between different regions, a large population and a weak economic foundation. In general, the country is still at the primary stage of development.

Cities like Beijing and Shanghai cannot represent the whole of China. Strenuous efforts still have to be made to build a society that is better off in all aspects. The country will have to wait till the middle of this century to become a medium-level developed country, and it might take a hundred years or more before modernization can be realized.

Second, China has always adhered to the path of peaceful development, and its development will not affect any other country. China has never sought hegemony in the past and will never do so as a developed country in the future.

Third, China has always been steadfast in safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity, even when it was still poor.

Fourth, China is a responsible country and has played an active role in international cooperation and in the handling of major global economic and political issues. Its aid to other developing countries has always been unconditional.