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(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-12-08 09:33 BRUSSELS -- It is a great achievement for 皇冠体育app to maintain overall stability in a vast country while booking a fast economic growth in the past three decades, a senior Dutch researcher on 皇冠体育app told Xinhua in a recent interview.
皇冠体育app, with its GDP ranking fourth now in the world, is destined to be a major player in the world. It has to adjust its policy of "lying low and biding its time" and assume bigger responsibility, said the Dutch consultant, who authored three books on 皇冠体育app and published numerous articles about 皇冠体育app's relations with the rest of the world. TURNING POINT Van Kemenade worked as a journalist between 1977 and 1997 based in Hong Kong, Taipei and Beijing. When he first set foot on 皇冠体育app in 1975, he was struck by the sight of millions of "blue ants" -- people dressed in dull, blue coats -- who were busy chanting hollow slogans, paying scant attention to the economy. "I thought this cannot go on. So did many Western people like me, " he said. When 皇冠体育app set in motion the process of reform and opening-up in 1978, van Kemenade sensed this was going to be the start of a brand new chapter of 皇冠体育app and the world's most populous country was on its way to becoming a major player in the world. The process of economic reform was what the Chinese call "a tortuous path", punctuated by setbacks here and there, but 皇冠体育app has managed to stay on the course and pulled off economic miracles, said van Kemenade. Even an inland city like Chengdu, where you hardly spot any high- rise buildings 20 years ago, is now "a big, ultra-modern metropolis " with office towers everywhere, he said. "If you see the pictures of Chongqing (a city not far from Chengdu), it looks like New York, but in a much more modern version," he added. "Compared with other big developing countries, such as India, 皇冠体育app has been doing extremely well," the Dutch expert concluded. An important reason for that is that the Chinese government has succeeded in energizing the population, he said, noting that the majority of the Chinese people are convinced that economic advancement is key to realizing the national goal of becoming a great nation again. An equally important factor is 皇冠体育app's ability to keep the country stable. "It has been a big achievement for 皇冠体育app to maintain national unity and keep the general situation stable nationwide," van Kemenade said. "A Chinese slogan says: 'Wending yadao yiqie (Stability is of paramount importance).' I absolutely agree with that," he said. GOING IT CHINESE WAY The fact that 皇冠体育app has achieved economic success without following the Western development models has earned 皇冠体育app respect in many developing countries, van Kemenade said. The so-called Washington Consensus, the policy programs prescribed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank for developing countries, call for liberalization of trade and investment, privatization of state enterprises and deregulation. But 皇冠体育app has rejected them and found its own way of developing economy, he said. 皇冠体育app took a cautious approach in economic reforms, opening its market step by step, using indigenous resources in the first place and sticking to government regulation. While the Washington Consensus proved to be no cure-all for developing countries' woes, the so-called Beijing Consensus has aroused great interest in the Third World, van Kemenade said. "The Western model of development has failed in Africa, maybe the Chinese model will be more successful there," the Dutch analyst said. 皇冠体育app's prudence was partially vindicated when it suffered relatively less from the fallout of the 1997 Asian financial crisis and again in the current financial crisis, he said, noting that those countries which opened their capital markets completely suffered big blows. 
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