In comments directed at Asean, a top Communist Party official reiterated that Beijing did not want to become a regional hegemon, while vowing to strengthen its energy cooperation with the Southeast Asian bloc.
“For a country like China, which has ‘harmonious coexistence’ embedded in its DNA, it is extremely difficult to undergo a ‘genetic mutation’ and become a militaristic hegemony that bullies the small and weak,” said Sun Haiyan, deputy head of the party’s International Department.
Sun, who handles party-to-party diplomacy, was speaking at the Greater Bay Area-Asean summit in Shenzhen, southern China’s Guangdong province, on Wednesday.
The event was organised by the South China Morning Post.
She said the country’s history had influenced its cultural genes, which, like biological genes, “will be passed down through the generations in a large proportion”.
“For example, some countries in the world have a history of war, so it is really difficult for them to maintain peace for a long time.”
