Inclusiveness is the term that overlaps inclusivism. It is the practice of trying to incorporate diverse or un-reconciled elements into a single system. Books, dictionaries and political dissertations talk a lot about this term, but the practical demonstration of this we saw in the People’s Republic of China where diversity is a boon, not a bane.This is rather a very unique achievement of the Chinese society that has evolved a system far more effective and perhaps superior than many other societies, most of which have failed to translate diversity into a unified national struggle that has also borne fruit for a vast majority of the ordinary people (an ordinary Chinese citizen exudes greater confidence and self-esteem typical of egalitarian societies). If one were to make use of comparison by percentages, one can easily say that more than 80 percent of the citizens of China are much better placed than the citizens of other advanced parts of the world, including major economic giants like US, Japan and Germany. If the GDP of Japan exceeds the 5,000 billion-dollar mark, China’s GDP touches almost the same mark but without any external debt burden on its national reserves. Japan owes billions of dollars in the shape of external debt.One is otherwise made to think what is the use of all those self-styled pluralistic, multi-party democracies that just cannot deliver; that just cannot make their people comfortable and self-esteemed? There have been debates and philosophical wrangling of sorts on this basic question concerning human living but very few societies, including the economically strong Western states, have been able to achieve what the Chinese people have achieved with tremendous speed and confidence, courtesy and vision of their leadership that draws inspiration from Mao Xedong and other visionaries, who devised the system that is a wonderful blend of party wisdom and governance by the executive.The party cadre is a true reflection of the aspirations and genuine needs of the masses and it is working throughout the year with a forward-looking approach, identifying newer areas of growth, prosperity and stability. Guidelines are framed and given on a permanent footing that, in turn, enables the implementing arm of the state, the executive organ, to keep pace with the changing socio-economic realities.And, by now, it has been established beyond doubt that China’s system of governance, as well as its amazing economic model, has surpassed many so-called successful models. This is a fact that the so-called successful models have been able to give little to their masses. Mere amassing of wealth or building up of huge assets cannot remove the imbalances. And where there is imbalance, the fruits of riches and trumpeted economic expansion are minimal. In the case of China, now we see unprecedented economic expansion of global scale side by side with citizens’ fulfilment. In the latter area, perhaps no country of the world matches China. The only method of judging this observation is paying a visit to China.This scribe happened to be in China during the month of June 2012, along with four other media persons from Pakistan and three from Afghanistan. It was, indeed, very gracious on the part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, People’s Republic of China, to invite us to see China with its multidimensional progress. And before an account of our interactions is given, let us discuss a little bit about the Chinese people’s fulfilment. It is not difficult to ascertain, as it is manifest from the body language of almost each and every citizen of China - whatever his or her calibre, status or financial standing; there is no ganging up of heads of institutions or their deputies in second or third line of command against the commoners (a phenomenon that is rampant in most of the developing world where gangs/pressure groups/lobbies are the real governments, mostly in conflict with each other and where democracy is eclipsed by the ever-growing clout of these groups or gangs). There is no self-destructive conflict in China the like of which we usually witness in some world capitals where power tussle and ego battles among institutional heads normally tend to arrest the growth of a society both economically and politically.Our first visit was to China’s Foreign Office in Beijing where we were welcomed by the cheerful Mr Luo Zhaohui, People’s Republic of China’s former Ambassador to Pakistan, who is now Director of the Department of Asian Affairs in China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has already served as China’s envoy in Pakistan for about three-and-a-half years. What amazed us the most was the Chinese people’s good memory. Mr Luo immediately recognised some of us (journalists), as he had met us on different occasions in the recent past, including the 60th anniversary of Pak-China friendship at the Punjab Chief Minister’s Secretariat at Lahore. A similar demonstration of good memory was witnessed, when we visited China Radio International. One of the Chinese electronic media journalists, named Shaheen, working for the Urdu section stunned me by reminding me of a journalists’ reception in a Lahore restaurant four years back in which he had met my colleagues and me. And in his own specific area i.e. diplomacy, the Director Asia was fully abreast of the developments in Pakistan, Although we had still to get an update on the happenings back home, the Director told us on June 18 (i.e. before former Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani’s disqualification by apex court): “Your Prime Minister is not going to Brazil day after tomorrow.” Obviously, he had complete knowledge of what was brewing in our country.Another wise man that we met was Mr Dong Manyuan, Vice President and Senior Research Fellow at China Institute International Studies (CIIS). He and his colleagues impressed us with their intensive research and in-depth study into international happenings and their undercurrents. Two of his statements were the sum total of this research. He stated that in order to build harmonious international relationships, the US needs China’s cooperation at many levels in resolving many issues and that global peace and stability was the shared responsibility of P-5 (five permanent members of the UNSC). And that golden piece of advice that he gave to the Western powers, especially the United States, is a wonderful piece of wisdom. He said that the Western powers should match their power with their international obligations. I think this ought to be the chief guiding principle of international relations in the strife-torn world of today that is also marred by disparities and hegemony of few over more than two-thirds of the humankind.The scholars and officials at CIIS were fully appreciative of Pakistan’s sacrifices in the war against terror and pressed upon the international community to recognise Pakistan’s great role in this war. They were also of the considered opinion that the Western media and politicians were to blame for showing indifference towards Pakistan on this issue.
The writer is a freelance columnist Email: mianrehman1@gmail.com