More active player on world stage

China is taking a more active role in international affairs, according to China observers in Europe.

They also said China needs a smarter and more considerate approach to rebuilding trust with neighboring countries, as certain challenges and difficulties will continue in 2013.

"It is a good thing that China is taking a more active role, and it should seek to integrate itself into the world community," Rana Mitter, professor of the history and politics of modern China at Oxford University, told China Daily.

This year, China has been more actively involved in international affairs, especially in working toward solutions for global problems such as the Syrian issue, climate change and terrorism. It has also made greater contribution to sustainable development, and to global peace and prosperity.

Peter Ho, chair professor of Chinese economy and development and co-director of the Modern East Asia Research Center at Leiden University in the Netherlands, said: "It's a remarkable move, as that has always been the pillar of China's foreign diplomacy. However, it also fits more with the role of a responsible global player that China wants, will and needs to play on the world stage."

However, China's diplomatic efforts have faced many difficulties this year, including tensions with neighboring countries in the East China Sea and South China Sea over sovereignty issues.

Mitter said: "China will need to adjust to the fact that it is a big power in East Asia, and it must act to reassure its neighbors that it understands their concerns as well as its own.

"Moving to more multilateral diplomacy in the region is an important aim, and China can play a full part in that change if it chooses to."

Oliver Bräuner, researcher from Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, an independent international institute, explained, "Chinese interests are expanding and this has led to debates on the future role of China in international affairs, both within China and abroad."

For example, China's energy and business interests have an increasingly global reach, Bräuner said, adding that this also means that Chinese companies and citizens are active around the world, also in politically unstable regions.

Bräuner also mentioned China's tense relationships with its maritime neighbors, especially with Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines.

These countries are trying to balance China's rising political, economic and military power by strengthening their ties with the US, whose "pivot to Asia" strategy has unsettled many in Beijing, Bräuner said.

"The result is a continued lack of trust between China and many of its neighbors, as well as the US."

Bräuner said that to effectively pursue its expanding interests while maintaining friendly relations with its international partners, China will need a smart and considered approach.

He said rebuilding trust in the region and returning to the successful "good neighbor policy" of the late 1990s and early 2000s should be a main priority for China's new leadership.

Contact the writer at zhangchunyan@chinadaily.com.cn