In court of public opinion, actions better than words

Editor's note: China should exercise restraint when encountering disparaging voices, as the country's fast development over the past 40 years has unavoidably put it in the spotlight, Ruan Zongze, vice-director of the China Institute of International Studies, writes in an article published by Global Times on Tuesday. Excerpts:

According to its current growth momentum and the World Bank's standards, China will become a high-income country by 2023, which means it will soon overcome the middle-income trap that has shut the door of the high-income country club to dozens of developing countries, whose economies have long been mired in stagnation.

Nowadays, populism, unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise as unfair national wealth distribution and delayed reform have resulted in public anger. Some politicians, who harbor mixed feelings toward China's rise, are unable to hold themselves back from making China a scapegoat for their countries' internal problems.

China may feel innocent facing such unfounded accusations, if not smears. But it should have been prepared for the one-sided opinion market, which in fact has accompanied its development for years. There are always some who hold prejudice against China.

As the largest developing country and world's second-largest economy, China needs to divert its attention from responding to this background noise to addressing concrete problems, such as climate change, poverty alleviation, the refugee crisis and the slowdown in the world economy.

No country becomes great through winning squabbles. As a responsible major country, China is obliged to promote international efforts, and offer its solutions to the common challenges facing humankind.

Both the Belt and Road Initiative, and the proposal to build a community with a share future for humankind are appropriate ways to respond to common challenges. As long as China can further its reform and opening-up along its development path, and focus on its main jobs without being distracted, it will realize its own national rise, and contribute to the common goods in its own way, which is the best way to respond to the China bashers.