People's Republic of China, 2004

I

offer my warm congratulations to you, Sir, on your

election as President of the General Assembly at its

fifty-ninth session. I am confident that under your

presidency fruitful results will be achieved. I also wish

to pay a cordial tribute to Mr. Julian Robert Hunte,

President of the General Assembly at its fifty-eighth

session, and to Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

The recent appalling terror in Beslan, Russia,

caused massive casualties, including many children.

On behalf of the Chinese Government, I strongly

condemn, once again, that inhuman act of terrorist

violence and extend our deep condolences to the

families of the victims.

Peace and development remain the dominant

themes in today’s world. Multipolarization and

economic globalization are moving forward in twists

and turns. Science and technology are advancing at a

dizzying speed. Forces that make for peace and factors

that lead to war are both on the rise. Human society is

moving in a bright, progressive and positive direction.

However, the light of peace has not fallen on

every corner of the globe, nor has development reached

every inch of the Earth. Threats to security, both

traditional and non-traditional, are intertwined. The

dark cloud of war remains menacing. Hot spots keep

springing up. Terrorist activities are raging, and cross-

border problems such as the proliferation of weapons

of mass destruction, drug trafficking, transnational

crime and illegal immigration are erupting one after

another. Factors of uncertainty, instability and

unpredictability are increasing.

In the course of economic globalization, the gap

between the North and the South is widening.

Developing countries are confronting new difficulties

and challenges as a growing number of them are

further marginalized. Today, half the global population

lives on less than $2 a day, and of those, 1.2 billion live

on less than $1 a day. Much remains to be done to

implement the Millennium Development Goals.

Peace, development and cooperation are the

prerequisites for our times. People all over the world

are raising their voice in favour of peace, development

and cooperation and against war, poverty and

confrontation. Peace is the precondition for human

development and prosperity. Without a peaceful and

stable international environment, development is out of

the question for any country. A chaotic world benefits

no one. Having experienced the scourge of two world

wars, mankind would not tolerate any more war or

bloodshed. Thus it is the fervent aspiration of all

peoples to live and achieve development in a secure

and stable environment.

In tackling security issues, it is imperative to

foster a new security concept of mutual trust, mutual

benefit, equality and cooperation. This new concept

calls for nations to transcend their differences in

ideology and social systems, respect one another’s

security interests, promote greater democracy in

international relations and seek peaceful solutions to

disputes through dialogue.

Terrorism is the common enemy of the whole

world. China stands firmly opposed to terrorism in all

forms and manifestations. To prevent and fight

terrorism, we must intensify international cooperation

and address both the causes and symptoms of the

threat. Only when the root causes of terrorism are

eradicated can peoples live in peace and tranquillity

again.

The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction

poses a threat to world peace and security. Non-

proliferation efforts therefore require the participation

of all members of the international community.

Likewise, it is important to discard unilateralism and

double standards and to give full credit and full latitude

to the role of the United Nations.

China takes an active part in multilateral non-

proliferation efforts and firmly defends the

international regime of arms control, disarmament and

non-proliferation treaties. China believes that

multilateral arms control, disarmament and non-

proliferation processes can be steadily promoted in

order to further improve the international non-

proliferation regime.

There is still a long way to go before peace and

reconstruction can be realized in Iraq. We support an

important role for the United Nations in Iraq’s political

process, helping that country achieve the smooth

holding of elections.

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We appeal to Palestine and Israel to resume

dialogue as soon as possible and to start implementing

the Middle East road map faithfully. As always, China

will work to resolve the nuclear issue on the Korean

Peninsula through dialogue and talks, in the interest of

peace and stability on the Peninsula.

Development is the foundation for human

progress. Lasting peace and stability throughout the

world depends on coordinated, balanced and universal

development. Development is of overriding

importance. Living in peace, abundance and harmony

between nations has been the dream of many

generations. Coordinated, balanced and sustainable

development serves the fundamental interests of all

peoples and works for their well-being.

In order to promote economic growth worldwide,

it is necessary for the international community to take

effective measures to put in place an open and fair

multilateral trading regime and gradually improve it. It

is also important to reform and improve the

international financial system.

The developed countries must honour their

commitments to debt reduction, technology transfer

and market access through concrete actions in order to

enable developing countries to really benefit from

globalization. The developing countries, for their part,

need to work together to attain development and take

part in a wide range of international efforts. They

should also deepen South-South cooperation.

We, the members of the international community,

should join hands in working for a just and equitable

new international economic order that meets the needs

of the growing economic globalization and serves the

common interests of all countries.

The Millennium Development Goals are our

solemn, collective pledge. The United Nations should

further mobilize resources, strengthen coordination and

increase its input to development activities in order to

help Member States achieve these important goals as

scheduled.

Cooperation is an effective way of dealing with

the collective challenges facing humankind. To

strengthen international cooperation, we must

champion multilateralism. The United Nations is the

centre of the international multilateral system and the

key platform for making multilateralism work. It is the

widespread desire of the international community to

adhere to the purposes and principles of the United

Nations Charter, take more collective actions,

strengthen the role of the United Nations and safeguard

its authority.

The threats and challenges we face make it

imperative to strengthen, rather than weaken, the role

of the United Nations. A stronger United Nations is

indispensable for maintaining global peace and

stability and promoting the common development of

humankind. All Member States should honour their

commitments to the Charter of the United Nations and

fulfil their international responsibilities and

obligations.

The world is eagerly looking forward to a

dynamic and action-oriented United Nations. China

supports necessary and rational reforms of the

Organization. Such reforms should aim at enhancing

the leading role of the United Nations in international

affairs, reinforcing its capacity to tackle new threats

and challenges, and ensuring that better reflects the

aspirations and needs of the vast majority of

developing countries.

China is in favour of expanding the Security

Council and of giving priority to greater representation

of the developing countries. China also supports the

work of the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges

and Change, and it is looking forward to the Panel’s

report by the end of this year, so that it can be reviewed

by Member States.

China is a staunch force working for world peace,

common development and international cooperation.

After over half a century of strenuous efforts and more

than two decades of reform and opening up, China has

now entered a new stage of development aimed at

building a moderately prosperous society all-round.

However, China is still a developing country, and a

large population and inadequate economic

development remain its basic national conditions. It

has a long way to go before achieving its development

goals.

The Chinese Government will always place

development at the top of its agenda. The fact that

China — a large, developing country with 1.3 billion

people — runs its own affairs well is in itself a major

contribution to peace and to the development of

humanity.

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China desires peace, development and

cooperation, and strives to win peace and development

through cooperation. It is working to promote

democracy in international relations, diversity in its

modes of development and richness in the world’s

civilizations. It advocates a new security concept and

facilitates the establishment of a fair and equitable new

international order.

China will pursue with determination an

independent foreign policy of peace, adhere to the five

principles for Peaceful Coexistence, and engage in

mutually beneficial and friendly cooperation with other

countries on an equal footing.

China will unswervingly safeguard its

sovereignty and territorial integrity, brook no

interference in its internal affairs by foreign forces and,

at the same time, respect other countries’ sovereignty

and territorial integrity.

China remains committed to the common

interests of humankind. China’s national interests, in

the final analysis, are consistent with the common

interests of all humankind. In handling State-to-State

relations, China will safeguard its own interests while

taking into account the interests of other countries.

China will adhere to the policy of opening up, and

develop economic relations and trade with all other

nations on the basis of equality and mutual benefit.

China’s development stands in the way of no one,

nor does it pose any threat to others. China is following

the path of peaceful development, seeking an

international environment of peace and stability for its

own development and promoting world peace and

progress through its own prosperity.

China is working steadily to develop its relations

with the world’s major countries. It will stay

committed to the policy of building friendship and

partnership with its neighbours and combine stronger

bilateral friendships with enhanced regional

cooperation. It will strengthen solidarity and

cooperation with other developing countries and

support any justified demands or legitimate

propositions on their part in international affairs. It will

play a constructive role in the political, economic,

social, disarmament, arms control and other

multilateral fields; safeguard the purposes and

principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the

universally recognized norms governing international

relations; and support any consensus that serves the

common interests of all countries.

Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory.

Safeguarding China’s sovereignty and territorial

integrity and realizing complete national reunification

at an early date is the common will and firm resolve of

the 1.3 billion Chinese people. Pursuing the policy of

“peaceful reunification and one country, two systems”,

the Chinese Government is ready to work tirelessly

towards a peaceful reunification with the utmost

sincerity. We, more than anyone else, want to see a

peaceful settlement of the Taiwan question. But we

will never tolerate Taiwan independence, nor will we

allow anyone to separate Taiwan from the rest of China

in any way.

We hope that the international community will

fully recognize the complex and sensitive nature of the

current situation across the Taiwan Strait and the

serious threat posed by the separatist activities of the

Taiwan authorities to the stability of the Taiwan Strait

and the peace of the Asia-Pacific region. We expect the

Assembly to continue supporting the Chinese

Government’s efforts for peaceful reunification and to

join us in containing pro-independence activities, in the

interest of stability in the Strait and of world peace.

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the

Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. As the basic

guidelines for State-to-State relations, the Five

Principles have withstood the test of half a century and

remain an irrefutable truth. The Five Principles, which

include peace, development and cooperation, are

consistent with the purposes and principles of the

Charter of the United Nations. They provide guidance

for the establishment and development of relations

between countries with identical or different social

systems; point to the correct path towards the peaceful

settlement of outstanding issues between countries and

international disputes; firmly defend the interests of the

developing countries; and facilitate the improvement

and development of North-South relations. The Five

Principles present important ideas that must underpin

the establishment of a fair and equitable new

international order.

China not only initiated, but has faithfully

observed, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.

Given the new realities of today, we will continue to

champion those Principles and join all the peoples of

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the world in advancing the lofty cause of peace,

development and cooperation.