A fresh perspective needed on China and the West

Impetuous and extreme proposals must be refused, irrespective of China's national situation, said Yu Zhengsheng, the newly elected chairman of China's top political advisory body. His words echoed a line in the 18th Party Congress report on China's path that stated: "China will not walk the closed and rigid old path or the evil path of changing the flags".

These words convey a clear message to the outside world that China is realistic about its practical national conditions and confident in its path. China is also warning against unrealistic fantasies — both at home and abroad, says an article of People's Daily. Excerpts:

There are some global misunderstandings about modernization. It seems to many, modernization is a byword for westernization.

After more than 30 years' of rapid development, China has proven that there is no set path for a country's development, and proven that developing countries should always explore their development path according to their national conditions.

China is open to all valuable lessons from other developing and developed countries. Practical application is the only criterion to test if the lessons are valuable or not for China.

Even the so-called Western path is in a state of flux, as it has now proven in the global financial crisis.

There should not be a stereotypical label on one country's development model. If China's path catches the world's attention, the only reason is not how mature the path is, but how entrenched the Western path is constructed in many people's minds