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Anglican Head Testifies China as an Emerging Power

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the spiritual head of the Anglican Communion, recently spoke of China's “immense potential” in working to solve the world's problems.

Speaking at a reception for a Chevening scholars reunion in Nanjing on October 10, Dr Williams emphasized that China has its place in a future which will require nations to work together more than ever.

The Church of England leader said: “... there are more and more problems in our world which no one nation can confront alone. So much of our history – Europe's – has been a history where we've imagined that because of national sovereignty independence of national economies, we can sort out our own business.

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“And of course the big challenges of our day – challenges such as the environment, the challenges of health and health care and the way in which modern disease spreads, the challenges posed by global communications systems – all of these tell us that there are more and more things that we cannot resolve alone.”

Williams, who is “first among equals” in the 77-million-member Anglican Communion, is having his “first direct encounter with China” this week. The Anglican head’s visit, which commenced Sunday, has been planned with the intention “to provide a deeper understanding of the Christian communities in China and the varied context in which it is developing," according to the Archbishop’s office. The spiritual journey follows visits to China by previous leaders of the Church of England, including the visit by late Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie in 1983 and and Dr William's predecessor George Carey in 1994.

In Nanjing, Williams explained that he had been expecting on his visit to be learning about modern-day China but what he had found was the potential that the emerging Asian country has for the future.

“China is emerging as a senior partner in the fellowship of nations; a country whose economy is changing so fast and whose profile in the world has become so recognizable and distinctive that we can't imagine a global future without the Chinese presence.

“It's a presence which can do great good; it's a presence which has the capacity to push forward agendas, for instance about development and particularly about sustainable development,” said the archbishop.

He told those gathered: “Yours is a society which will have messages to give to the rest of the world but I hope too that it's a society willing to receive and to hear what the rest of the world has to say and that process begins in experiences like yours. It begins in experiences of sharing a cultural distinctiveness in our different settings; it begins in developing that global awareness without which no civilization is going to last.”

Williams will cover five cities in total before his visit to China ends on October 23.

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