Lu Shaye, China’s Ambassador to France, returned to China to attend the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. During an interview on March 6th with China Youth Daily, Lu Shaye said, “If a country (China) wants to expand its position and influence internationally, it must actively participate in global governance and multilateral affairs.” He said that in the past, during the period when China was relatively poor, Western countries would “look down” while dealing with China, but now they are basically “looking straight ahead,” and in some cases they may in fact be “looking up” at China.
Again referring to China, Lu Shaye stated that a big country should act like a big country, and it cannot simply “hide its light (capabilities) and bide its time” as it did in the past. “This light cannot be hidden, and time cannot be bidden. You have become an elephant; you are no longer able hide behind a tree.”
Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), March 8, 2024
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202403080300.aspx