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Government Documents
Government Documents
UPDATED: April 23, 2010 NO. 16 APRIL 22, 2010
A Changing China in a Changing World
Address at the Munich Security Conference by Yang Jiechi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in Munich, February 5, 2010
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Mr. Chairman,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to come to Munich at the beginning of the new year to attend the Munich Security Conference and exchange views with you on major issues concerning world peace and security.

Looking back at the first decade of the 21st century, I am convinced that the enormous and profound changes the world has experienced will leave indelible imprints in the long annals of human history. And China is without doubt an important part of the changing landscape. When I read newspapers or watch television these days, I see stories about China almost every day. Many people ask: how will China, a country ever growing and developing, interact with the rest of the world? And what role will China play on the international stage? Let me therefore begin my speech with China.

We celebrated the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China a few months ago. In these 60 years, we have found a new development path through long and hard exploration. The past 30 years, in particular, have witnessed tremendous achievements in China, thanks to the policy of reform and opening up. China's GDP has been growing at an average annual rate of nearly 10 percent and 235 million people have been lifted out of poverty. China has achieved three historic transitions: from a highly centralized planned economy to a dynamic socialist market economy, from a closed or semi-closed society to a fully open one, and from a state of mutual estrangement with the rest of the world to one of close interactions.

But on the other hand, China still faces many difficulties, and we in China are most keenly aware of our weaknesses and challenges. China's per capita GDP has just exceeded $3,000, ranking the 104th in the world. Uneven development remains a prominent problem. Big cities like Beijing and Shanghai can in no way represent the whole of China, and many rural and remote areas are still very poor. One hundred and thirty-five million people are living on less than $1 a day and 10 million have no access to electricity. China is a developing country and it will take the strenuous efforts of several and even a dozen generations before China can truly achieve modernization. To enable the 1.3 billion people to live a comfortable life, we must focus all our time and energy on development. We will seek a peaceful international environment to develop ourselves and at the same time contribute to the cause of world peace through our own development. This is a strategic choice that China has made. It is a choice rooted in China's own interests as well as the long-term interests of the whole world.

A more developed China is an opportunity rather than a threat to the world. History is the best teacher and keeps a fair record of the paths that all countries have traveled. "Harmony without sameness" has been a much cherished value of the Chinese people since ancient times. The argument that a strong nation is bound to seek hegemony finds no supporting case in China's history and goes against the will of the Chinese people. China today is committed to a path of peaceful development. We pursue a defense policy that is defensive in nature and a nuclear strategy solely for self-defense. We adhere to the policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons at any time and under any circumstance, and we have made the unequivocal commitment that we will unconditionally not use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states and nuclear-weapon-free zones. China's military development has a clear purpose, that is, to maintain national security and unity and ensure smooth economic and social development.

A more developed China will continue to treat others as equals and will never impose its own will on others. Gone are the days when one or two countries made decisions for the whole world. China has always maintained that all countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, are equal members of the international community and must respect one another and treat one another with equality. China's diplomacy is guided by this principle. The equality we call for is not just equality in form, but more importantly equality in substance. All of us should embrace a diverse world with an open mind. We must respect the values and independent choice of the development path of other countries, respect other countries' core concerns and refrain from interfering in their internal affairs. In the same vein, China, like any country in the world, will stick to principles on issues affecting its core interests and major concerns, and defend its hard-won equal rights and legitimate interests.

A more developed China will undertake more international responsibilities and will never pursue self interests at the expense of the interests of others. We know full well that in this interdependent world, China's future is closely linked to that of the world. Our own interests and those of others are best served when we work together to expand common interests, share responsibilities and seek win-win outcomes. That is why while focusing on its own development, China is undertaking more and more international responsibilities commensurate with its strength and status. We have taken an active part in the international cooperation on the financial crisis. We promoted the establishment of an Asian foreign exchange reserves pool worth $120 billion and signed with other countries currency swap agreements totaling 650 billion yuan. We have cancelled the debts of 49 heavily indebted poor countries and least developed countries and provided over 200 billion yuan ($29.4 billion) assistance to other developing countries. China has been actively involved in international peacekeeping operations. As the largest peacekeeper contributing country among the permanent members of the UN Security Council, we have altogether sent over 10,000 peacekeeping personnel to 24 UN peacekeeping missions, including over 2,100 who are currently performing peacekeeping duties. Some Chinese peacekeepers even gave their lives to the cause of world peace and security. As you may know, eight of our peacekeeping personnel lost their lives in the recent massive earthquake in Haiti. China has shown with its concrete actions that it is a positive force for world peace and common development.

Mr. Chairman,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Concomitant with the historic changes in China are the new development and changes in the whole world. How should we read the changes our world has gone through in the past decade? The way I see it is this: as multipolarity and globalization gather momentum, the call for peace, development and cooperation, which represent the trend of the times, has become stronger than ever. The destinies of all countries have never been so closely linked as they are today, and multilateralism and democracy in international relations have won even greater popular support. But there is also the other side of the coin. Globalization, while generating rapid growth, has brought forth various problems and challenges. The impact of the financial crisis is continuing, and the prospects of the world economic recovery are unclear. Climate change, food security, energy security, public health security and other global issues have become more acute. Non-traditional security threats, including terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and transnational crimes persist, while some long-standing local conflicts and hotspot issues remain unresolved. All these pose grave challenges to world peace and development.

Living in a changing world, we must see things in the light of their development and seek solutions with a cooperative spirit. We should foster a cooperation outlook based on mutual respect and equal consultation and safeguard the right of developing countries to equal participation in international affairs. We should foster an outlook on interests which emphasizes mutual benefit and common development, and advance economic globalization in the direction of balanced progress and shared benefits. We should foster a security outlook featuring mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and coordination, respect each other's security interests and pursue security for all. We should foster an outlook on civilization that encourages mutual learning and seeks common ground while reserving differences, and facilitate exchanges among civilizations and development models for common progress. And we should foster an outlook on the environment that champions mutual support and coordinated progress, and make joint efforts to preserve planet Earth, our common home.

To promote world peace and development, it is particularly important that we properly manage the following hotspot issues and global challenges.

First, the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula. Tension surrounding this issue has recently eased to a certain extent, and there is now a new opportunity to restart the Six-Party Talks and push forward the denuclearization process. The Korean nuclear issue is a complex and sensitive one, and it involves the interests of different parties. We must find a peaceful solution to this issue through dialogue and consultation and by political and diplomatic means. This is the only right choice, a choice which serves the common interests of all parties. We must all work together to keep the dialogue going, demonstrate flexibility and create conditions for the resumption of the Six-Party Talks. China will work tirelessly with other parties concerned and the international community as a whole for the denuclearization of the peninsula, the normalization of relations between relevant countries and the achievement of enduring peace and stability in Northeast Asia.

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