Ultimate insider[1]_其他_趣味英语-查字典英语网

Ultimate insider[1]

For the past decade, General Xiong has been publishing a year-end assessment of the "international strategic situation" at the end or beginning of every year. Besides, he is an active speaker around the country - and the world - and expounds China's stand on national and military issues. Many of these articles and speeches have found their way into this collection. What is truly amazing is that none of them needed "updating" during the editing process because, as General Xiong says, he did not write for specific occasions and therefore his writings have stood the test of time.

He is proud he took a "comprehensive and long-term view" of the international strategic situation back at the dawn of the new century. He believed that peace and development would remain the two major themes of the century, and China would face more opportunities than challenges. "Multi-polarity" would hit bumps but still be the trend, he argued. Economic globalization would have its quirks, but was "unavoidable", he noted. He also emphasized the function of technology and "the revolution in military affairs".

General Xiong derives his interpretation of China's international strategy from his understanding of the country's geopolitics. "The world is not flat, only part of it has been flattened," he says. A country does not simply make policies out of interests alone, but has to consider both its interests and the power it possesses.

When he touches upon the topic of national security, it is not limited to traditional areas, such as a military threat. Even a decade ago, General Xiong was talking about "non-traditional security issues" like economy, energy, public health and information system, among others. Even tasks for the military have been expanded, according to Xiong, to include non-military endeavors.