"The Chinese are coming. Let’s greet them"

I recently visited China to participate in the Boao Forum on China’s “peaceful rise”. Now, the question is not whether China is developing but whether this development will be peaceful. Let us not dream: renewable sources of energy in China will always be secondary. As a consequence, China will consume energy from traditional sources and will try to procure them anywhere and by all means. It will form new alliances, some of which may be in conflict with the West, which could destabilize many regions of the world. Let us not forget that in the 19th century, the Europeans went to war over raw materials. Times have changed but the tendencies may not have.
In fact, everything depends on China’s viewpoint. Its new alliances with India and Europe, and its distancing from other regions, demonstrate China’s wish not only to exist in the world, but to be at the helm of world affairs. China could have an excellent peaceful and solitary development but its fear of isolation poses a threat to its peaceful rise.
It is necessary to engage with China. If we treat it as an enemy, it will become an enemy. We must help to integrate China. The Europeans have a role to play. We have spoken in favor of China’s integration to the World Trade Organization and France supports China’s vision of multilateralism. We must learn to know ourselves through developing our relationships.