Last year Hu Jintao's leadership ushered in a new diplomacy with the formulation of "peaceful rise" to describe China's emergence and its independent peace policy. This concept  surfaced at the Boao Forum for Asia annual conference in 2003 and soon entered China's foreign policy lexicon. The Chinese leadership, particularly Hu Jintao-Wen Jiabao group, hailed it as a new strategic conceptualization of China's rapid rise. However, the Shanghai-faction led by Jiang Zemin termed this concept as dovish. The ensuing power struggle led the new concept into fall in disuse. With Jiang Zemin's resignation as Chairman of the Central Military Commission on 19th September, the concept of China's "peaceful rise" may rejuvenate.

The concept  reflects the political struggle simmering within the top leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. While the 16th Party Congress saw the handing over of the post of President and Party General Secretary to Hu Jintao, the post of head of the Central Military Commission, the country's highest military organ, was retained by Jiang Zemin. Mao Zedong's dictum "power flows from the barrel of the gun" suggests that whoever controls the gun also controls the Chinese Party-State. Therefore, the peaceful rise formulation seems the fourth generation leadership's strategy to herald a new era in Chinese politics and eclipse the influence of its earlier leadership.

But this is simply not the result of a power struggle. Chinese strategists believe the concept arose to rebut the 'China threat' theory that evolved in the early 1990s. Peaceful rise emphasizes on the urgency of recognizing that its rise will not pose a threat to any power, suggesting a re-conceptualization of China's power and place in world politics. While China has been rising for quite sometime now, some new developments in world politics and economies has prompted China to reshape and readjust its policies. In fact, Chinese scholars held that certain limitations on further development and discordance with the world economy have appeared. After China joined the WTO in 2001, Chinese analysts believe that the challenges have increased enormously as it does not participate on the formulation of rules and regulations and has no market pricing power. Therefore, China's primary objective is the realization of a fair and mutually beneficial globalization marked by mutual benefits and joint development for all.

Further, in the wake of the US's Iraq war, China believes that world power is becoming more "dispersed". There is a growing divergence between the EU and the US. Hence, China has more space to play its role in world affairs. The Iraq war has also increased volatility in the global situation posing new threats to China's achievements over the past two decades. Therefore, the concept of "peaceful rise" helps China to readjust its strategic policies to deal with world developments. Under the rubric of "peaceful rise" China can portray itself as a non-threatening power contributing to world economic growth. It also reflects China's determination to integrate into the international system rather than challenge it. Essentially, peaceful rise is a concept aimed at managing the consequences of China's rise as a great power.

The formulation of peaceful rise also enables China to blunt the critics of China's "voracious appetite" for raw materials. China's rapid economic growth and transformation has created a huge need for raw material and energy resources. These growing demands have led to China's growth being compared with Germany's lebensraum. China's mounting demands need greater engagement with the world not only to procure its vital raw materials but also secure access to natural resources.  China's formulation of its peaceful rise policy supports the consequences of its rising demands.

Serious contradictions, however, plague the new concept. The most prominent is China's handling of the Taiwan issue. The declaration of its 2020 deadline for Taiwan unification in July this year points to the inconsistencies in its new concept. In fact, the Jiang faction has pointed out that the Taiwan question is a major exception to China's peaceful rise policy. This contradiction has fuelled a new wave of the China threat debate particularly in Taiwan, Southeast Asia and the US. Fresh concerns are being raised regarding China's intentions and capabilities. Nevertheless, with Jiang Zemin's resignation, a rejuvenation of the "peaceful rise" concept is possible deriving from Hu Jintao's domestic and foreign policy approach, which focuss on an "economy first" approach. Though China has achieved spectacular economic growth, the CCP is confronted with serious social problems and disaffection arising from the widening income gap, corruption and abuse of power. This calls for Hu to reiterate his peaceful rise concept wherein China can emphasize 'development' as its basis.