People's Republic of China, 2002

First of all, Sir, please allow me to offer my warmest

congratulations on your assumption of the presidency

of the current session of the General Assembly. I wish

also to express my gratitude to Mr. Han Seung-soo,

President of the previous session of the Assembly.

I wish to congratulate the Swiss Confederation on

having joined the United Nations and also to welcome

the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, which will

soon become a Member of the Organization.

The opening of this session coincides with the

first anniversary of the events of 11 September. Over

the past year, the international campaign against

terrorism has made headway, and now we should not

only ponder ways to eradicate the global scourge of

terrorism, but also take a broader view of the security

issues facing humankind and seek to achieve lasting

peace and universal security.

At present, the international security situation is

undergoing profound changes. Security has begun to

take on wider connotations. While traditional military

antagonism and conflicts have yet to be eliminated, a

variety of non-traditional security concerns have

become increasingly prominent. Security is no longer a

purely military concern. It has permeated politics,

economics, finance, science, technology, culture and

many other areas.

Security is no longer a zero-sum game. Its

mutuality is obviously on the increase, as countries

have come to realize that they have common security

interests and feel a greater sense of interdependence.

We must overhaul the tools at our disposal to

achieve security. Military means alone have proved

inadequate in meeting the massive and complex

security challenges facing us. The indiscriminate use of

force can only lead to greater trouble in our world.

This new situation calls for new ideas in the area

of safeguarding security. We in China believe in a new

security concept that features mutual trust, mutual

benefit, equality and cooperation.

By mutual trust, we mean that countries should

rise above their differing ideologies and social systems,

abandon the cold-war mentality and the power politics

mindset, and refrain from harbouring suspicion and

hostility towards each other. They should hold frequent

dialogues and mutual briefings on their security and

defence policies or on the major actions they are about

to take.

By mutual benefit, we mean that a country should

respect the security interests of others while pursuing

its own, and also help to create conditions for

enhancing the security of others while making itself

more secure thus achieving universal security.

By equality, we mean that all countries large

or small, strong or weak should respect each other,

treat each other as equals and refrain from interfering

in each other's internal affairs, so that international

relations can become more democratized.

By cooperation, we mean that countries should

resolve their disputes through peaceful negotiations,

engage in extensive and close cooperation on their

shared security concerns and work to prevent wars and

conflicts.

All in all, our new security concept is aimed at

increasing mutual trust through dialogue and at

promoting common security through cooperation.

It is in the spirit of this new security concept that

we in China have been working hard to promote

mechanisms for a regional security dialogue and

cooperation, actively participating in the Shanghai

Cooperation Organization and in the Association of

South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum,

and endeavouring to establish an Asia-Pacific security

framework that is for dialogue and against

confrontation.

China is actively committed to international arms

control, disarmament and the non-proliferation process.

Not long ago, the Chinese Government promulgated

the Regulations on Export Controls of Missiles and

Related Items and Technologies and its Control List.

The Chinese Government will make further

improvements on its export-management mechanisms

for biological and chemical dual-use items. We call on

the international community actively to undertake

dialogue and cooperation in the spirit of this new

security concept, in a joint effort to tackle the major

security concerns of the day.

We should press ahead with international

cooperation against terrorism and curb the threat of

international terrorism once and for all.

Counter-terrorism should be pursued on the basis

of international law and of the norms governing

16

international relations, allowing the United Nations and

its Security Council to play a leading role. It should

take a comprehensive approach, with a focus on

eliminating the root causes of terrorism. Efforts should

be made to prevent the arbitrary enlargement of the

scope of the counter-terrorism campaign, but proven

terrorists, including the East Turkestan terrorist

forces trained, armed and bankrolled by the Taliban

and Al Qaeda must be resolutely stamped out.

We should step up dialogue and reconciliation

processes and facilitate the settlement of regional hot-

spot issues.

China supports the Palestinian people and their

just cause to regain their legitimate national rights and

to establish their own State. We support the relevant

Security Council resolutions and the principle of land

for peace. We are opposed to violence targeting

innocent civilians, and we reject responding to violence

with violence.

We stand for a political settlement of the question

of Iraq. The United Nations should play an important

role in this regard. Iraq should implement the relevant

Security Council resolutions in a faithful and strict

manner.

We hope that India and Pakistan will soon resume

dialogue on the basis of equality and mutual respect

and resolve all their differences, including that over

Kashmir, through peaceful means.

We will continue to work constructively for a

lasting peace in Afghanistan and its post-war

rehabilitation. We support the important role of the

United Nations in this regard.

We should strengthen exchanges and dialogues

among different civilizations and thereby avert conflict

or confrontation. Differences among diverse

civilizations are a basic characteristic of humanity.

We have every reason to treat the achievements of

various civilizations kindly and to promote exchanges

among them on the basis of respect for diversity.

Everyone is encouraged to draw upon the strength of

others with a view to realizing common development.

Peace and development go hand in hand. Many of

the problems we face today may be development-

related. In coping with these challenges, it is all the

more important to look to development for answers. In

the past year, the United Nations has held a series of

important meetings on development such as the World

Summit on Sustainable Development. What is needed,

right now, is to translate the programmes and

commitments into reality.

In the past year, regional economic cooperation

has continued to move forward. We feel especially

happy about the launching of the African Union,

convinced that Africa will now take fresh strides on the

road to development. At present, our development

tasks have become more pressing. The widening wealth

gap in the world must be reversed. Frequent economic

and social shocks must be dealt with. The sharpening

clashes between economic development, on the one

hand, and resources and the environment, on the other,

must be allayed. The international order and the rules

of the game, which do not fairly reflect the needs of

developing countries, must be changed.

We would like to make the following

propositions. First, to establish a global partnership

geared to development. Governments, international

organizations, transnational corporations and non-

governmental groups are all parties to the cause of

development. The North and the South, the aid-

recipient countries and international aid institutions,

should be equal and cooperative partners in dealing

with the global economic slowdown. The developed

countries ought to lend developing countries a helping

hand. The new round of multilateral trade talks should

be seized as an important opportunity for forging such

a new partnership.

Secondly, to promote a balanced and steady

development in the context of economic globalization.

The international community needs to reform current

roles in the world economy, strengthen guidance and

management of the globalization process and promote

a win-win situation and coexistence among countries.

Thirdly, to strengthen the developing countries'

capacity for self-development. Developing countries

should opt for a development path suited to them and

strive to catch up with the tide of global economic

development. The international community should

respect the right of developing countries to

independently choose a development path, and help

them with capacity-building.

Fourthly, in order to continue on the path of

sustainable development, we should promote a

balanced development of the economy, population,

resources and the environment. Efforts to address the

17

environmental problems of individual countries should

be combined with those aimed at global concerns.

Fifthly, to enhance comprehensive development of the

people. Human resources are the primary resources for

advancing science and technology and for realizing

economic and social development. In formulating

development strategies, countries should make the

people their top priority and main beneficiary.

The Communist Party of China will soon hold its

sixteenth national Congress, the very first in the new

century. Standing in the forefront of the historical tide

and displaying a spirit of progressing with the times,

this party Congress will draw up a new blueprint for

accelerating socialist modernization in China. Our

guiding thought is to consistently represent the

development requirements of China's advanced

productive forces, represent the orientation of China's

advanced culture and represent the fundamental

interests of the overwhelming majority of the Chinese

people. Our historic mission is to accelerate the drive

for modernization, complete the reunification of the

motherland, maintain world peace and promote

common development.

The first 10 to 20 years of this century present

China with an important strategic window of

opportunity for its development. While taking

development as our number one priority, we must grasp

the opportunities, deepen reform, open the country still

wider to the outside world, promote development and

maintain stability.

We will continue to pursue an independent

foreign policy of peace, actively develop friendly

relations in cooperation with all countries in the world

on the basis of the five principles of peaceful

coexistence, and facilitate international dialogue and

cooperation, thus contributing constructively to a fairer

and more equitable international order.

There is but one China in the world. Both the

mainland and Taiwan belong to that one China, and

China's sovereignty and territorial integrity brook no

division. The Chinese Government adheres to the basic

policy of peaceful reunification and one country, two

systems; and President Jiang Zemin's eight point

proposal on how to develop cross-strait' relations and

promote a peaceful reunification of the motherland for

the current stage. We are firm in our opposition to all

forms of Taiwanese independence activities and will

tolerate no attempt to separate Taiwan from the rest of

China in any fashion. All acts of Taiwan independence

are doomed to failure and our grand cause of national

reunification will triumph.