Beijing, Nov 29 (IANS): No country should pursue its own interests at anothers' expense, a state-run Chinese daily said Thursday in an article on China's diplomacy.
The article in the People's Daily cited President Hu Jintao as saying in a report at the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China that the country will continue to hold high the banner of peace, development, cooperation, and mutual benefit.
The daily said: "It underscores the importance and necessity of mutual benefit, which has a profound impact on Chinese diplomacy under new circumstances."
Without making clear what the new circumstances are, the article stressed that mutual benefit is "a key principle of China's diplomatic practices over the past few decades".
"...China has fully promoted friendly cooperation with other countries on the basis of mutual benefit, and shared more and more common interests with partners. The country has created a favourable external environment for its own development, and made great contributions to world prosperity and stability," it said.
People's Daily said that "mutual benefit does not mean denying the existence of differences and friction".
"Instead, it means increasing mutual trust through effective communication and resolving disputes by seeking common ground while reserving differences. No country should pursue its own interests at others' expense," it said in the article titled "Chinese diplomacy highlights mutual benefit".
It explained that mutual benefit has "rich ideological content, and applies to every aspect of international relations".
"Economically speaking, countries can make the market cake bigger and achieve common development and prosperity. Politically speaking, they should work together to increase the common interests of mankind. In terms of security, they should support common, collective, and cooperative security, and oppose absolute or unilateral security. In terms of culture, they should respect the diversity of civilizations, and promote exchanges and communication among different civilizations, so they can learn from one another."
It went on to say that mutual benefit has "distinctive characteristics of the times".
"While enjoying the convenience brought about by globalization and informatization, countries also face such common challenges caused by various global issues as food, energy, and internet security. They should consider others' reasonable concerns and promote common development while pursuing their own interests, so lasting peace and stability across the world will be achievable," the article added.