People's Republic of China, 2012

I wish

to congratulate Mr. Jeremić on his election as President

of the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session.

I am confident that with his ability and experience he

will successfully fulfil that lofty mission. I also wish to thank Mr. Al-Nasser for his positive contribution as

President at the last session.

The world is undergoing major and profound

changes. The trends towards multipolarity, economic

globalization and the application of information

technology are gaining momentum. Countries have

never been as interconnected and interdependent as they

are today. Emerging markets and developing countries

have never had such strong influence, and cross-

civilizational dialogue and exchanges are flourishing

as never before. To promote peace, development

and cooperation has become the shared aspiration of

people across the world and the common pursuit of the

international community.

On the other hand, the world is still far from being

peaceful. The underlying impact of the international

financial crisis and the European debt crisis remains

strong. Destabilizing factors and uncertainties affecting

global growth have increased. Regional turbulence

persists, hotspot issues keep emerging and traditional

and non-traditional security issues have become

intertwined. The international security environment is

highly complex.

Facing both unprecedented opportunities and

challenges, we must not allow the outdated Cold War

mentality and zero-sum game theory to stand in our

way. We should act like passengers who stick together

in a boat when crossing a torrential river and seek

win-win progress through cooperation. That is the only

option for countries around the world. To ensure one’s

own security, a country should respect and accommodate

the security of other nations. To achieve one’s own

development, a country should actively promote

common development. In pursuing one’s own interests,

a country should take into account the interests of

other nations. Only by promoting common security and

development for all its members can the international

community effectively address complex and multiple

security threats and global challenges, resolve

increasingly serious difficulties facing development and

ensure durable peace and sustainable development in

the world. With that in mind, China believes that it is

important to do the following.

We should promote equality and democracy in

international relations. Mutual respect and equality

are basic norms governing international relations. All

countries, large or small, strong or weak, rich or poor,

are equal members of the international community. Respect for each other’s sovereignty, core interests

and choice of social system and development path is a

fundamental principle guiding State-to-State relations.

We should resolutely promote greater democracy in

international relations. A country should deal with its

internal affairs itself. Issues involving the interests of

various countries should be handled by those countries

through consultation. We should remain true to

multilateralism and uphold the purposes and principles

of the Charter of the United Nations and the central role

of the United Nations in international affairs.

China strives to strengthen political mutual trust

and to address problems and differences with other

countries through dialogue and exchanges. China does

not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries or

impose its will on others. China does not allow outside

forces to interfere in its internal affairs.

We should seek win-win progress through

cooperation on development. As economic globalization

deepens, all countries have a high stake in each other’s

success. We should therefore enhance cooperation

and develop common interests to achieve win-win

progress with benefits for all. We should tap the

potential for cooperation in all countries, increase and

develop cooperation, improve cooperation mechanisms

and work together to make economic globalization

balanced, inclusive and beneficial to all.

We should accelerate the development of

developing countries and narrow the North-South gap.

We should enhance global development cooperation to

ensure that the benefits of development reach everyone.

Since the start of the international financial crisis,

while maintaining its own robust growth, China has

significantly increased contributions to international

financial institutions, extended a helping hand to other

developing countries and bought more bonds from

certain developed countries. That has helped to stabilize

the international economic and financial situation and

to maintain the economic and social development of the

relevant countries.

We should ensure fairness and effectiveness in

conducting global governance. Facing increasing

global challenges, the international community should

strengthen coordination and cooperation, establish a

fair, equitable, flexible and effective system of global

governance, properly address the various global issues

and promote the common well-being of humanity.

China supports the United Nations in enhancing its authority, efficiency and ability to address new threats

and challenges through the required proper reform.

It is important to advance the building of a global

system of economic governance with a focus on

reforming the international financial system, rapidly

implement the quota and governance reform plans of

the International Monetary Fund and other financial

institutions, and increase the representation and voice of

emerging markets and developing countries. We should

fully implement the outcome and consensus of the

United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development

(resolution 66/288, annex), further develop international

cooperation on sustainable development and discuss the

establishment of a post-2015 international development

agenda based on actively implementing the Millennium

Development Goals.

We should launch a process of open, transparent

and democratic intergovernmental consultation,

with development and poverty reduction as the core

objectives. We should also fully leverage the role of

civil society and the private sector in that task. Together

with all other parties, China is ready to actively

participate in reforming the international system and in

global governance and to jointly face the various global

challenges.

We should pursue common progress by embracing

the diversity of civilizations. According to ancient

Chinese philosophy, the world will be a great place

when all things thrive without harming each another

and when various efforts are pursued in parallel

without their clashing. We should encourage exchanges

and mutual learning among different civilizations and

social systems, draw on each other’s strength through

competition and comparison and make progress by

seeking common ground, while maintaining our

differences. We should respect the diversity of the world

and the right of all countries to independently choose

their development path. China encourages dialogue

and exchanges among civilizations. We should replace

confrontation with dialogue and bridge differences

with inclusiveness in order to make the world more

harmonious and to ensure common progress for

humanity.

We should seek common security amid growing

interdependence. No country is immune to the complex

and multiple security threats and challenges in the

world. We should foster a new thinking on security that

is characterized by mutual trust and benefit, equality and coordination. We should adopt a holistic approach

to address both the symptoms and the root causes of

the various security challenges and should build a

peaceful and stable international and regional security

environment.

The United Nations should fully play its role in

maintaining international peace and security and

in establishing a fair and effective mechanism for

common security. We must resolve disputes through

dialogue and negotiation and oppose the wilful use or

threat of force. We must oppose all forms of terrorism,

separatism and extremism.

West Asia and North Africa are undergoing

profound changes. China respects and supports efforts

by countries in those regions to independently deal

with their internal affairs. We respect the aspirations

and calls of people in those areas for change and

development. The unique features of those regions in

terms of religion, civilization, history and ethnicity

must be respected. We hope that the relevant parties will

settle differences through inclusive and constructive

political dialogue and that they will resolve problems

peacefully.

Safeguarding peace and stability in those areas,

upholding the fundamental and long-term interests of

Arab countries and ensuring the growth of friendly

China-Arab relations will remain a central goal of

China’s policy towards such regions. We will continue

to tirelessly strive, together with countries in those

areas, to promote peace and development in line with

the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United

Nations.

China is deeply concerned about the stalled

Palestinian-Israeli peace talks and the economic

and humanitarian difficulties facing the Palestinian

people. The turbulence in the region should not divert

international attention from the Palestinian issue. China

supports the Palestinian people in establishing, on the

basis of the 1967 border, an independent Palestinian State

that enjoys full sovereignty, with East Jerusalem as its

capital. China supports Palestine’s membership of the

United Nations and other international organizations.

China urges both Palestine and Israel to take concrete

measures to remove obstacles and to work for the early

resumption and substantive progress of the peace talks.

China is deeply concerned about the ongoing

tension and worsening humanitarian situation in

Syria. We call on all relevant parties in Syria to put an immediate end to the fighting and violence, to

implement the relevant Security Council resolutions,

Mr. Kofi Annan’s six-point plan and the communiqué

of the foreign ministers’ meeting of the Action Group

for Syria (A/66/865, annex), and to launch an inclusive

political dialogue and a Syrian-led political transition as

soon as possible. China is open to any political plan that

is acceptable to all parties in Syria. The relevant parties

of the international community should play a positive

and constructive role in that regard, credibly support

Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, Joint Special Representative

of the United Nations and the League of Arab States,

in conducting impartial mediation, and strive to set

in motion and move forward the process of political

transition in Syria.

The Iranian nuclear issue has reached a new, critical

stage. The relevant parties should remain committed to

a diplomatic solution and begin a new round of dialogue

as soon as possible. In the spirit of respecting each

other’s concerns, we should act with flexibility and

pragmatism to expand common ground and overcome

differences, seek early progress in dialogue and

negotiation and, over time, achieve a comprehensive,

long-term and appropriate solution to the issue. China

has always supported efforts to uphold the international

nuclear non-proliferation regime and will continue to

work with the parties concerned and play a constructive

role in seeking a peaceful solution to the Iranian nuclear

issue through dialogue and negotiation.

The Asia-Pacific region has maintained general

stability and rapid growth for many years, thereby

making important contributions to global stability

and prosperity. Given the growing threat of shrinkage

in the global economy and increasing volatility in the

international situation, maintaining peace, stability

and sound growth in the Asia-Pacific region is crucial

to ensuring the well-being of its people and meets the

broader interests of the international community.

We should fully respect the reality of a

diverse and interdependent Asia-Pacific region,

and continue to follow the approach of regional

cooperation — building consensus, making

incremental progress and accommodating each other’s

comfort levels — that has proved effective over the

years. We should promote regional development with

greater determination, advance regional cooperation

with increased resources, and handle differences with

longer-term interests in mind so as to uphold the peace,

stability and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region. As an important participant in building the

international system, China is committed to sharing

development opportunities with other countries and

to working with them to overcome various challenges

and realize security and development for all. China

will stay the course of peaceful development. We seek

a peaceful international environment in which China

can promote its own development. By so doing, China

will contribute to global peace and development. China

is firm in upholding its core interests. At the same

time, it respects the legitimate right of other countries

to protect their interests. We seek to expand common

interests with other parties for the sake of the common

good.

China has contributed a total of some 21,000

personnel to United Nations peacekeeping missions

and taken an active part in international cooperation

on counter-terrorism, anti-piracy and non-proliferation

efforts. In our efforts to resolve major international

and regional hotspot issues, we have urged the parties

concerned to seek peaceful solutions through negotiation

and thereby played an important and constructive role

in easing tensions and achieving the political resolution

of those issues. China has made remarkable progress

in pursuing peaceful development and will continue to

follow that path in the years to come.

China will enhance friendly relations and

cooperation with all other countries on the basis of

the five principles of peaceful coexistence and strive

to promote a new type of relationship among major

countries based on mutual respect and win-win

cooperation. Following a policy of building good

relationships and partnerships with neighbouring

countries, China has actively expanded exchanges with

its neighbours.

China has contributed to over 50 per cent of

Asia’s growth for many consecutive years. We have

endeavoured to build mechanisms of mutual trust and

political cooperation with other Asian countries and

appropriately to address differences and frictions among

relevant countries. On the basis of firmly upholding

China’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity,

we have worked with our neighbours to maintain sound

relations and overall stability in the region. China treats

other developing countries as good friends and good

partners; we therefore support each other and seek

common development on the basis of equality.

By the end of 2011, the Chinese Government had

built over 2,200 projects that are important to the local economies and people’s lives in the countries

concerned. We have cancelled the debts owed to China

by 50 heavily indebted poor and least-developed

countries. We have trained over 60,000 personnel in

various sectors for 173 developing countries and 13

regional and international organizations. All of that has

contributed to the economic and social development of

other developing countries.

China has taken an active part in reforming the

international system and global governance, and

assumed its due share of international responsibilities

and obligations as its capabilities permit. We are

working to build a fair, equitable and non-discriminatory

global trading system and a more equal and balanced

new global partnership for development. We support

a greater role for the Group of Twenty as the premier

forum for international economic cooperation, as well

as the efforts of emerging markets represented by the

BRICS group — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South

Africa — aimed at exploring a new model of global

cooperation.

The global economy is at a critical stage, and

achieving full recovery and sustained growth will be a

long and difficult task. Last year, despite a challenging

economic environment both at home and abroad, China

registered a gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate

of 9.3 per cent, and made good progress in adjusting its

economic structure and improving people’s lives. Since

the beginning of the year, in order to address some

new problems in economic performance, the Chinese

Government has stepped up anticipatory fine-tuning of

the economy and introduced a series of targeted policy

measures. That has boosted market confidence and

ensured steady growth.

China’s GDP grew by 7.8 per cent in the first half of

the year, and the country has enjoyed sound economic

and social development. China is still in an important

period of strategic opportunities for development.

Industrialization, urbanization, the application of

information technology and agricultural modernization

will continue to unlock our great potential for

development. We have the confidence, means and

ability to maintain steady and robust growth and

achieve long-term, sound and sustainable development.

During its twelfth five-year plan for the period

2011-2015, China’s domestic market will become one of

the largest in the world. Its total imports are expected

to exceed $10 trillion, and direct outbound investment is expected to exceed $500 billion. That will create

enormous business and job opportunities for the world

and provide good opportunities for other countries’

development.

The Diaoyu Islands have been an integral part

of China’s territory since ancient times. China has

indisputable historical and legal evidence in that

regard. Japan seized the islands in 1895 at the end of the

Sino-Japanese War and forced the Chinese Government

of the time to sign an unequal treaty to cede the islands

and other Chinese territories to Japan. After the Second

World War, the Diaoyu Islands and other Chinese

territories occupied by Japan were returned to China

in accordance with the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam

Agreement and other international documents.

By taking such unilateral actions as the so-called

island purchase, the Japanese Government has grossly

violated China’s sovereignty. This is an outright denial

of the outcomes of the victorious anti-fascist World

War and poses a grave challenge to the post-war

international order and the purposes and principles of

the Charter of the United Nations. The moves made by

Japan are totally illegal and invalid. They can in no way

change the historical fact that Japan stole the Diaoyu

Islands from China and that China has territorial

sovereignty over them. The Chinese Government is

firm in upholding China’s territorial sovereignty. China

strongly urges Japan to immediately stop all activities

violating China’s territorial sovereignty, take concrete

action to correct its mistakes and return to the path of

resolving the dispute through negotiation.

The Communist Party of China will soon hold

its eighteenth National Congress. We are confident

that the important meeting will lead China’s reform,

opening-up and modernization drive to a new stage.

The facts have shown and will continue to prove that

China’s development is peaceful, open, cooperative and

win-win in nature. We will work with the international

community to follow the trend of history and the call

of the times and build a harmonious world of enduring

peace and shared prosperity.