“Chi needs to deter but keep things friendly. We must stick to our principles but respect the interests of our neighbours,” the commentary added. Asking what the key intertiol challenges were on Chi’s path, it said: “Due to various frictions in Chi’s neighbourhood in recent years, Chinese public opinion about some neighbouring countries has deteriorated with calls on Chi to hit back at a few of them.” Without taking any country’s me, the commentary said that “a few neighbours take it as an opportunity to play hardball in solving their maritime and land disputes with Chi. “They deem Chi (is) unwilling to incur unnecessary troubles and meanwhile the US has shown evident intent to counter Chi’s rise.” It said the Chinese society needs to understand these frictions and refrain from taking them as Beijing’s major strategic challenges.
