III. The International Situation and Our Foreign Policy

In the complex and volatile world situation, we have scored major achievements in our relations with other countries. The People's Republic of China has cemented optimum good-neighbour relations with surrounding countries since its founding, has strengthened its solidarity and cooperation with the large numbers of developing countries and has improved and expanded its relations with all countries, including the developed ones in the West, on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence. China's international influence has steadily increased and its international standing has risen.

The world today is in a historical period of great change. The bipolar structure has come to an end, forces are disintegrating and their elements are being realigned and the world is moving in the direction of multipolarization. The formation of a new structure will be a long and complex process. For a long time to come, it will be possible to secure a peaceful international environment and avert a new world war. At the same time, it should be pointed out that the current international situation remains turbulent. Contradictions everywhere are deepening, and in quite a few countries and regions ethnic contradictions, territorial disputes and religious conflicts have sharpened and have even led to bloodshed and local war. International economic competition has become increasingly intense. The economies of many developing countries have deteriorated even more, and the gap between North and South has further widened.

The questions of peace and development remain the two top priorities on the international agenda today. Development needs peace, and peace cannot be maintained without development. Hegemonism and power politics have all along constituted the main obstacles to peace and development. World development cannot be based for long on the poverty and backwardness of the great number of developing countries. The drastic changes and turmoil of the international situation have helped awaken the world's people. Among the developing countries that have shared common experiences, the trend of safeguarding independence and sovereignty and seeking solidarity and cooperation is gaining momentum. The world needs peace, countries need to develop, society needs to progress, economies need to thrive and living standards need to improve. These have become the universal demands of the world's peoples.

Faced with the new international situation, the Communist Party of China, the Chinese government and the Chinese people will continue to develop their relations with foreign countries, to seek a favourable international environment for China's reform, opening up and modernization and to make their own contributions to world peace and development.

China has consistently pursued an independent foreign policy of peace. The basic objectives of that policy are to safeguard our independence and sovereignty and to promote world peace and development. On questions involving our national interests and state sovereignty, we shall never yield to any outside pressure. China will always stand firm as a strong defender of world peace. It will not enter into alliance with any country or group of countries and will not join any military bloc. China will never seek hegemony and expansion; it is opposed to hegemonism, power politics, aggression and expansion in any form. China is against the arms race and stands for effective disarmament and arms control carried out in a fair, reasonable, comprehensive and balanced manner. Today, some countries are calling for disarmament too, but they have not, in effect, reduced the number of their sophisticated weapons. In handling international affairs, China abides strictly by the Charter of the United Nations and the acknowledged norms of international relations and adheres to the principled position of seeking truth from facts and upholding justice.

The nature of the new international order that is to be established is a question of great concern to the international community today. In view of past experience and present reality, we advocate the establishment of a peaceful, stable, just and rational new international order on the basis of the five principles of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual nonaggression and non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit and peaceful co-existence. Such a new order would include a new international economic order based on equality and mutual benefit.

The world is diverse, and differences of all kinds exist among nations. The peoples of all countries are entitled to choose the social systems and paths of development that suit their specific conditions. All nations, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, should take part in international affairs as equal members of the international community. All nations should respect each other, seek common ground while putting aside differences, treat each other as equals, and live together in amity. The differences and disputes between nations should be resolved peacefully through negotiation, in compliance with the United Nations Charter and the norms of international law, and force or the threat of force should not be used. Hegemonism and power politics - that is, the monopoly and manipulation of international affairs by a few countries - will not be tolerated. The establishment of a new international order is a long-term undertaking, and the Chinese people, together with all other peoples of the world, will make unremitting efforts to accomplish it.

As a member of the United Nations and a permanent member of the Security Council, China attaches great importance to the work of the United Nations and actively participates in it. We support the United Nations and the Security Council in their efforts to preserve world peace, promote disarmament, push forward global development and settle international disputes.

China is a developing country. A key element of our foreign policy is to strengthen our solidarity and co-operation with other third world countries. China and the other developing countries will, as always, support each other in safeguarding their independence and sovereignty and will increase their economic and cultural exchanges. China has become an observer of the Non-Aligned Movement and has established close ties with the Group of 77 as well. We shall further strengthen our co-operation with them.

China is willing to develop friendly relations and co-operation with all other countries on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. The differences in social systems and ideologies should not constitute obstacles to the development of relations between nations. In international contacts, China will never try to impose its social system or ideology on other countries, nor will China allow other countries to impose their social systems and ideologies on it. This is a principled position and it will never change.

China is firmly determined to open to the outside world and is ready to increase its economic, scientific and technological co-operation with all countries on the basis of equality and mutual benefit and to promote exchange in the fields of culture, education, health and sports.

The Communist Party of China values its relations with the political parties of other countries. It has already established ties of various sorts with political parties and organizations in more than 100 countries. We shall continue to develop friendly relations with such parties in accordance with the principles of independence, complete equality, mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs and to increase mutual understanding and co-operation in the spirit of seeking common ground while putting aside differences.

The founding of the People's Republic of China put an end to the Chinese people's tragic history of suffering from long aggression, oppression and humiliation, and it fundamentally changed the situation of human rights in China. The people have become the masters of the country and have steadily built their own new life. The Constitution of our republic has given basic protection to all the people's rights. China has acceded to a series of international conventions on human rights and agrees to the conduct of international dialogues on human rights on an equal footing. In the final analysis, the question of human rights is a matter within each country's sovereignty; China is resolutely opposed to the use of human rights to interfere in other countries' internal affairs.

Historical experience has taught us that whenever, on any pretext, any country encroaches upon the independence and sovereignty of others and interferes in their internal affairs, or whenever any big, strong or rich country coerces, humiliates and intimidates countries that are small, weak or poor, it will be internationally condemned. Any country that overreaches itself or rides roughshod over others will be denounced by the peoples of the world. A just cause enjoys abundant support, while an unjust cause finds little. The forces championing a just cause are always invincible.