After 30 years of breakneck growth, China overtook Japan to become the world’s second largest economy in 2010. The reaction in the west to this stunning success boils down to one question: what role will China play in the world? China will have a bigger part to play in global areas such as climate change, poverty alleviation, infrastructure, and reform of the international monetary system. But my country has long remained inward-looking, a tendency most clearly expressed in our Great Wall. Despite occasional bellicose reactions to what it regards as provocations, China still harbours no ambition to be a hegemonic power.
經過30年的飛速發展，中國在2010年超越日本，成爲全球第二大經濟體。西方對這一驚人成就的反應，歸結成一個問題：中國將在世界上扮演怎樣的角色？中國將在衆多全球領域發揮更大作用，例如氣候變化、消除貧困、基礎設施、以及改革全球貨幣體系等。但是我的國家長久以來都更爲關注內部事務——長城就是這種傾向最清晰的體現。儘管在認爲受到挑釁時，中國偶爾也會表現得好鬥，但它並沒有稱霸的野心。