Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

In an interview with Australian media Sky News, which was broadcast on Saturday, Peter Jennings, executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said he cannot see any country around the world currently which is "seeking to bully China." Instead, he said China is the "big international bully at the moment."

Portraying China as a "big bully," Jennings slandered China on the international stage to mobilize ordinary people at home and abroad. This is to pave the way for the following fierce competition or confrontation against China at the public level. These so-called scholars are in essence stirring up troubles in politics.

The true bullies are the countries that stigmatize China as a "bully." Take Australia. The country has started a rumormongering campaign on China's domestic affairs. Australia is acting as a little brother of the US and provoking China in various fields. These are bully practices.

When delivering a keynote speech on the Communist Party of China (CPC) and World Political Parties Summit on Tuesday, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and Chinese president, said, "China will never seek hegemony, expansion or sphere of influence." 

Labeling China, a country that pursues peaceful development and mutual benefits, as a "bully" is to interpret China's development path in a malicious way. But they are clearly aware that they are playing this set of discourse with malicious intent, and they deliberately interpret China's development this way. 

They are dark and twisted inside, so in their eyes, everything looks dark. As a result, their malevolence against China will become deeper with China's development, and the slander against China by these fake scholars and real politicians will intensify.

For centuries, the West has always been in an advantageous position. They are not accustomed to seeing a non-Western civilization that can rival them. China's global influence is mounting, and China tends to lead other countries in multiple domains. China does not pursue dominance, but China's impact has gradually got approval, which is in sharp contrast to the West, which has expanded its influence by means of wars and colonization. They describe China as "an elephant in the room," hyping China's threat. This embodies their narrow-mindedness. Haven't many Western countries themselves already been the "elephant in the room?"

When virtually delivering an address at the 9th World Peace Forum held in Beijing on Saturday, Singapore's Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong also used the metaphor of an elephant when talking about China's rise. He said "China was like an elephant entering a swimming pool where there were other smaller animals. No matter how gentle the elephant was, it still needed to be careful of its every move, because it might, even unintentionally, step on the toes of the other animals."

This shows that adjacent countries have certain doubts about China's development, but it also reflects their comprehensive understanding of China and their positive acknowledgement of China's role in the region. Portraying China as an elephant indicates that they believe China will not attack and plunder them like the West. Meanwhile, it also reminds China and its neighboring countries that both sides need to attach more importance to each other's thoughts and claims.

With China's rise, it is inevitable to have some frictions with some countries on certain agendas. It requires every country to maintain its independent judgment on how to deal with these frictions. Xi said at the CPC and World Political Parties Summit on Tuesday that human society has "once again found itself at a historical crossroads" that leads to either hostile confrontation or mutual respect, seclusiveness and decoupling or openness and cooperation, zero-sum game or win-win results. He said, "the choice is in our hands and the responsibility falls on our shoulders."

China will handle the divergences with a mindset of equality and mutual benefit. Other countries involved should also try to put themselves in China's shoes and meet China halfway. These countries should avoid being misled by some countries outside the region with ulterior motives, such as Australia. This is a test for the political wisdom of all countries, especially those surrounding China.

The author is a professor at the Institute of International Relations of the China Foreign Affairs University. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn