Ladies and gentlemen,

Reviewing the past 10 years, we can see that the development in the Asia Pacific has not always been smooth and even. Being a vast region, the Asia Pacific is home to countries with different national conditions, social systems and development stages. There are complex hot issues and intertwined traditional and non-traditional security issues. And there are many challenges in the endeavor to deepen mutual understanding and trust and uphold enduring peace and common development. However, Asia-Pacific countries, which focus on the long-term interests and the larger interests, can always manage to turn crisis into opportunity, and make even greater progress. From the region's development over the past 10 years, we can draw the following important conclusions.

First, cooperation is the basis. The rapid development of globalization and information technologies has made our world a global village, where the interests of countries are interconnected. As important members of this global village, Asia-Pacific countries face the common mission of safeguarding peace and stability, the common task of growing the economy and eradicating poverty and the common challenge of managing different problems and transforming development patterns. The major changes in our region and the world require us to free our mind and change our thinking in a big way. We must abandon the Cold War mentality and ideological stereotypes. We must foster a new vision of unity and cooperation for mutual benefit. If the 20th century was a century defined by incessant hot and cold wars and confrontation between the two blocs, the 21st century should be one defined by peace, cooperation and win-win outcomes.

Second, development is the key. The Asia Pacific as a whole enjoys sound development, and faces new and rare opportunities. But there are also many destabilizing factors and uncertainties threatening its sustainable development. Terrorism remains a menace. Non-traditional security issues such as economic security, energy and resources security, food security, climate change, disaster prevention and relief have become more pronounced. Most of them are issues that have occurred in the course of our progress and can only be addressed through common development. For those issues that cannot be resolved for the time being, we need to have enough patience and prevent the complication of problems so that they will not harm the overall development and the long-term common interests of this region. As long as we make a bigger pie of our shared interests and enable people of all our countries to benefit from the dividend of development, we will be able to meet various challenges effectively and achieve even better and faster development.

Third, a new security concept is the guarantee. International security threats to today's world are more complex and diversified. Security issues are increasingly interrelated, affecting more areas than before. No one can single-handedly resolve regional security issues. Cooperation is the only way to ensure security. We must foster a new security concept featuring mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and coordination. We need to respect the security of our own countries and also the security of others, and promote common security. We need to address disputes through dialogue and consultations. Territorial and maritime disputes between states should be peacefully resolved between the parties directly involved through bilateral negotiations. We are convinced that based on the consensus already reached and through the open channels of dialogue, the parties will be able to properly address their own issues with their own efforts. All countries should play a constructive role and refrain from creating new trouble and tension or complicating the matters. And all countries should act in a way that contributes to regional stability, mutual trust and unity.

Tension has once again risen on the Korean Peninsula, and China is highly concerned about the current situation. As a big responsible country, China decides its position based on the merits of each case and does not seek to protect any side. China is of the view that the most pressing task now is to prevent any escalation of the tension, and nothing should be done to inflame the situation. The parties concerned should keep calm and exercise restraint, and work to bring the situation back onto the track of dialogue and negotiation. As you have noticed, since the exchange of fire between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the ROK, the Chinese side has made a series of efforts to prevent the situation from escalating and worsening. We have stayed in close communication and coordination with relevant parties and urged various parties to maintain calm and restraint by all means, address the issues through dialogue and consultation and jointly safeguard peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. We have proposed to hold emergency consultations among the heads of delegation to the Six-Party Talks in Beijing in early December in the hope that the consultations will help ease the current tension and create conditions for the resumption of the Six-Party Talks. We will make continued efforts to encourage all parties to work together to maintain peace and stability on the Peninsula and in Northeast Asia.

Fourth, respect for diversity is the premise. Diversity and complexity are a distinctive feature of the Asia Pacific. Countries in this region have diverse political and economic systems, histories, cultures and social development models, which have grown side by side over the long years of history. Diversity is a source of the unique strength and enduring vitality for the Asia Pacific. We need to uphold this tradition, carry forward the spirit of openness, inclusiveness, seek common ground while reserving differences, mutual understanding and mutual accommodation, and strengthen mutual learning and people-to-people and cultural exchanges, so as to build the Asia Pacific into a community in which diverse nations and cultures live in peace and friendship.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The year 2011 will be the first year of the second decade of this century. It will be a year for us to build on past achievements and strive for new progress. For the Asia Pacific and the world, 2011 will be an important year to promote economic recovery and development, transform development patterns in the post-crisis era, and deepen the reform of the international system to meet global challenges. For China, it will be the first year of the 12th Five-Year Plan. We will enter a critical era in our endeavor to deepen reform and opening up and accelerate the transformation of the economic development pattern. China, the Asia Pacific and the world as a whole share the same goals and intertwined interests. China is willing to work with other Asia-Pacific countries to enhance cooperation, meet the challenges and promote world peace and development together. To this end, I believe we should make concerted efforts in the following areas:

First, we should make an all-out effort to promote the recovery and growth of the world economy. The global economy is now slowly recovering, but the international financial markets remain volatile; the exchange rates of major currencies fluctuate drastically; commodity prices hover at a high level and protectionism is notably rising. It is all the more evident that the world economic recovery is fragile and uneven. We should continue to work in a spirit of unity to secure and broaden the existing achievements and consensus, enhance macro-economic policy coordination, speed up the reform in the international financial and other sectors and ensure strong, sustainable and balanced growth of the world economy. We should work actively to bridge the gap between the North and the South, and step up North-South cooperation. We should oppose and reject protectionism in all its manifestations and uphold an open and free trade and investment environment. We should work to ensure comprehensive and balanced outcomes at the Doha Round negotiations by locking in previous achievements in order to attain the goals of the development round at an early date.

Second, we should meet global challenges together. Our existing bilateral and multilateral cooperation on global challenges such as climate change, disaster prevention and relief and combating terrorism has become and will continue to be the new and most promising growth areas for international cooperation. We need to work together to ensure progress in the Cancun Conference, and remain committed to the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" in a joint effort to meet the climate challenge. We should strike a balance between economic development and environmental protection, actively cooperate in clean energy, energy conservation and environmental protection and facilitate the growth of the green economy. We should establish and follow a new energy security concept featuring mutually beneficial cooperation, diverse development and common energy security through coordination. We should ensure the energy needs of all countries, developing countries in particular. We should join hands to fight terrorism and piracy to safeguard maritime security and normal trade flows. We should scale up cooperation in disaster prevention and reduction, draw on each other's strengths and minimize the impact of natural disasters on the lives and property of our people.

Third, we should further deepen the reform of the international system. The impact of the global financial crisis can still be felt. While global risks have risen, global governance capabilities remain weak. It is an arduous task to reform the international system. The G20 has held five summits, which have played an important role in coordinating efforts against the crisis, promoting world economic recovery and launching the reform process of the international economic and financial architecture. We should continue to make good use of the G20 as the premier platform of global economic governance, and facilitate the implementation of the consensus on the reform of international financial institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank. We should continue to uphold and strengthen the central role of the United Nations in the existing international system and increase the voice and representation of developing countries in the system.

Fourth, we should uphold international and regional peace and stability. The hot issues such as the Korean nuclear issue, the Iranian nuclear issue, Afghanistan and Sudan are highly complex. The international community should work actively and appropriately to ease tensions and resolve these issues in the larger context of upholding peace and stability. On the Iranian nuclear issue, the parties concerned should bear in mind the larger picture and long-term interests, step up diplomatic efforts, remain patient, adopt a more flexible, pragmatic and proactive policy, and seek a comprehensive, long-term and appropriate solution through dialogues and negotiations in order to uphold the international nuclear non-proliferation regime and peace and stability in the Middle East. On Afghanistan, we should fully respect its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, actively support its reconstruction, and work in concert to promote peace and stability in the country and the region as a whole. On Sudan, we should fully respect its sovereignty and the will and choice of the Sudanese people. Under the precondition of ensuring peace and stability in Sudan and in the region, we should steadily promote the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and work together to uphold peace, stability and development in the region.

Fifth, we should enhance mutual learning among civilizations and promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges. We should fully respect the independent choice of countries on their development path, draw on each other's expertise and share the benefits of our achievements. We should further expand cooperation in the fields of culture, education, health and tourism, and promote people-to-people exchanges so as to enhance public support for the growth of all-round cooperation. China will work actively to ensure the success of various fora, seminars and other events aimed at increasing dialogues and exchanges among different civilizations and make even greater contribution to protecting the development of diverse cultures and promoting people-to-people and cultural exchanges.

Ladies and gentlemen,

As a saying goes, "Those working in unity will prevail in a storm." Looking ahead, we see unprecedented opportunities as well as complex challenges in the pursuit of peace and development in the Asia Pacific and the world at large. As long as we are resolved to work hand in hand, we will seize the opportunities and meet the challenges, and open up a new avenue for countries with different cultures and growth models to live in harmony and achieve win-win progress. Together we will create an even brighter future.

Thank you.

(Source: www.fmprc.gov.cn)