Iraq situation demands China to engage

China should initiate the negotiations on urgent matters, including the Middle East crisis, under the G20 framework and take part in joint strikes against the IS if the consensus within G20 is to do so. It could even consider sending troops to Iraq to prevent the Islamic militants from sabotaging Iraq's normal economic order and to protect global economic interest.

But even while doing all this, Beijing should continue its efforts to resolve the Middle East crisis peacefully through political means, and never waver from its principle that the future of Iraq should be decided by the Iraqi people. Besides, to ensure that the Iraqi people get to benefit from economic activities, the international community has to take steps to guarantee that oil production in Iraq continues smoothly.

The international community also has the responsibility to make up the gap in Iraq's budget. In principle, the more oil a country imports from Iraq, the more money it should contribute to Iraq's budget and the more troops it should send to the country to beef its security.

But China will need to alter its foreign policy to make the actions discussed above possible. Therefore, the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, should issue legislation granting the government powers to defend the country's interests overseas. Since China has become an integral part of the world economy, it cannot stay away from matters global. Therefore, it should deepen its participation in discussions on global issues.

The author is deputy director of the Department of Chinese Trade Studies at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, affiliated to the Ministry of Commerce.