The Editor, Sir:

In response to Ian Boyne's article titled 'Why we should fear China', which appeared in The Sunday Gleaner on November 11, we would like to state the following:

Since it adopted the reform and opening-up policy nearly 30 years ago, China has scored widely acknowledged achievements in various areas. China is now the fourth-largest economy and the third-largest trading nation in the world. The Chinese people are working hard to build China into a prosperous, democratic, civilised and harmonious modern country, and continually making new contributions to human progress with China's own development.

Confident about the future

Those achievements are possible because China has embarked on a path of development that is suited to China's particular conditions and is in keeping with the trend of the times, and reflects the will of the people. That is, it sticks to an independent foreign policy of peace while at the same time pursues an opening-up policy; it goes after efficiency and growth as well as harmony and balance; it sticks up for sovereignty and integrity without losing flexibility and creativity.

The Chinese people are proud of what they have achieved so far and are confident about the future.

There have always been negative comments along with the advancement of China's development. They range from 'China collapse' to 'China threat' at different times. Ironically, none of these predictions has come close to reality as China marches forward on the road of peaceful development. The truth revealed in these hard facts is self-evident and needs no explanation.

Another truth is that, due to principle and tradition, we do not believe we know better than people of a foreign nation what's good or bad for themselves. By the same token, the Chinese people allow no one to tell them how to do things right in China. It seems we need to live with the fact that those self-righteous people with ignorance or arrogance will continue to make irresponsible comments on things they themselves don't really understand.

I am, etc.,

Chinese Embassy in Jamaica