BEIJING, Aug. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- China's peaceful development is conducive to world peace and development, several prestigious experts and scholars have said.

    Dr. David M. Finkelstein, deputy director of "Project Asia" of the CNA (Center for Naval Analyses) Corporation, Joseph Nye, dean of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, Qu Xing, vice president of China Foreign Affairs University, and Mikhail Titarenko, director of Institute of the Far East, expressed the same view in interviews with the People's Daily newspaper published on Friday.

    Finkelstein said: "In my view, one of the defining trends of the 21st century is China's emergence as a significant national actor in the international order."

    "As a historian, taking the long view, I would not opt for 'the rise of China' but rather for 'the re-emergence of China,'" he said.

    "By this I mean that China, as a national actor, is 're-emerging' as a full-fledged participant across the board in the larger international order, not merely a regional actor," he stressed, adding that after almost a century and a half of internal disorder, China is once again re-emerging in, and re-engaging the international order on every front.

    Professor Nye said: "I think most Americans still hope for a peaceful and beneficial future with China. As (former) President (Bill) Clinton once said, we have more to fear from a poor weak China than from a rich and democratic China."

    He also said Chinese economic growth has already become a major factor in the global economy, and China can also help in promoting political stability.

    "China's rise does not have to come at the expense of it neighbors or the United States if it is a peaceful rise," he said, adding that the rest of the world can benefit from Chinese growth because economics is not a zero sum game.

    Professor Qu said China, as a populous and vast nation, has always been watched closely by other countries.

    Traditional Chinese culture advocates peace and is against the use of force, Qu said.

    All the border disputes that have been settled were through peaceful negotiations and consultations on the basis of mutual understanding and accommodation, he added.

    He also said China's development has so far been beneficial to most neighboring countries rather than harmful to them.

    He also refuted the view that China is drinking up the world's oil.

    Rocketing oil prices in the world market are a result of Iraq War instead of China's growing demand, Qu said.

    Moreover, he said, as a member of the world community, China is well entitled to take part in global energy cooperation and reap its due benefits.

    The Taiwan issue has been one of the most important sources of difference between China and the US, Qu said.

    Noting that the Taiwan issue is part of China's internal affairs, he said the principle that the government is obliged to safeguard its country's national unification and territorial integrity could be found in the constitution of any sovereign nation.

    Titarenko said China's current policy, its efforts to preserve and strengthen the United Nations, its contribution to development of a multi-polar and fair world order, as well as its resolute observance of the principles of peaceful coexistence and norms of international law, all manifested a responsible and realistic approach on the part of Chinese leadership to the country's development and its role on the global arena. Enditem