People's Republic of China, 1992

May I begin

by warmly congratulating you, Sir, on your election to the presidency of the

current session of the United Nations General Assembly. I believe that, given

your talent and experience, you will guide this session to a successful

completion of the noble mission entrusted to it by the Charter of the United

Nations. I would also like to express my appreciation and thanks to your

predecessor, Mr. Shihabi, for the contribution he made to accomplishing the

tasks of the last session.

I would like to take this opportunity to extend my warm welcome and

congratulations to the 13 States that have been admitted to the United Nations

this year: the Republic of Armenia, the Azerbaijani Republic, the Republic of

Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia, the Republic of Georgia, the

Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Moldova,

the Republic of San Marino, the Republic of Slovenia, the Republic of

Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Since the last session of the General Assembly, profound changes have

taken place in the world, with events of major consequences occurring one

after another, from East to West and North to South. The international

community has finally shaken off the old pattern whose main feature was the

confrontation between the two military blocs. The world has now entered a new

historical phase of development towards multipolarity.

We in China have a saying: "Past experience can serve as a guide for the

present". The tortuous course that mankind has traversed in this century,

particularly since the end of the Second World War, has revealed a historical

truth: any Power, however strong it may be, is bound to decline if it goes

against the people's will for peace and development. It has always been a

shared aspiration and objective of the people of all countries to work for

world peace, national stability, social progress, economic growth and a better

life. This is a historical trend which no force can resist.

The genuine peace that the people of the world have longed for has not

come with the end of the cold war. On the contrary, the world remains uneasy,

with new problems added to the old ones and armed conflicts erupting one after

another as a result of disrupted equilibrium. Hegemonism and power politics

continue to exist. The attempt of some big Powers to control developing

countries politically and economically has become more and more obvious.

Long-hidden ethnic conflicts have surfaced with a vengeance and the

North-South contradictions have further intensified. The road to peace and

development before the people of the world is covered with thorns.

As we can all see, a dangerous "seismic belt" extending from the Balkans

to the Caucasus and to Central Asia is taking shape. In some regions, people

have once again been plunged into war and turmoil, with millions of refugees

fleeing in all directions. These conflicts have occurred in those areas where

different ethnic groups have traditionally lived together, with age-old

antagonisms suddenly coming to the surface under the new situation. These

conflicts are interwoven with historical feuds, territorial disputes,

political rivalries, clashes of economic interests, and religious intolerance.

They have been further complicated by the involvement of outside forces.

In our view, force should not be used even as a last resort in the search

of the settlement of a problem, however complicated it may be. The

fundamental solution lies in a reconciliation of various ethnic groups through

dialogues on an equal footing and peaceful negotiations. We sincerely hope

that the parties' to the conflicts will, proceeding from the overriding

interest of maintaining the peace and in the interests of the people, abandon

the threat or use of force and seek a political settlement of their conflicts

through friendly consultations and negotiations on an equal footing in the

spirit of mutual respect, good-neighbourliness and common progress.

We support the United Nations in its positive efforts to avoid an

escalation of conflicts and seek peaceful settlements. Outside intervention

and mediation can be resorted to when necessary, provided that they are based

on a strict observance of the principles and objectives of the United Nations

Charter and the basic norms of international law. Only mediation or

intervention in such a manner can contribute to a peaceful settlement of

conflicts, the stability and unity of sovereign States, and the amicable

coexistence of different ethnic groups.

The Middle East peace process has taken a favourable turn thanks to the

joint efforts of the Arab countries and Israel and the support of the rest of

the international community. We hope that the parties concerned will seize

the opportunity, take a flexible and practical approach, and conduct serious

negotiations in order to remove obstacles and seek a comprehensive and fair

solution to the Middle East issue, including the restoration of the national

rights of the Palestinian people on the basis of the relevant United Nations

Security Council resolutions.

The Asia-Pacific region has enjoyed political stability and a sustained

economic growth. In Cambodia, the striving for peace and rehabilitation has

become the order of the day. Political settlement of the Cambodian issue is

irreversible, though difficulties and twists and turns are hardly avoidable.

The implementation of the Paris Agreements in their totality requires not only

determination but also patience. In Afghanistan, the resistance forces have

taken control. We hope they will end the bloodshed so as to create suitable

conditions for the election. On the Korean peninsula, the North and the South

have intensified their dialogue, resulting in a further relaxation of tension

there. The recent establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the

Republic of Korea will have a far-reaching impact on stability and peace in

North-East Asia.

The turbulent and complicated international situation has further

awakened countries and peoples of the world to the urgency and necessity of

establishing a new international order. The world of the future should not be

a place where only the interests and privileges of big Powers or power groups

are protected, nor a place where international affairs are monopolized and

manipulated by the big, strong, and wealthy countries only. The old world

order based on unequal relationships no longer works.

A new international order should be based on the universal observance of

the five principles of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial

integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal

affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence. This is in

conformity with the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter.

All countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, should have the

right to choose a social system and a road to development suited to their

actual conditions. Countries should respect each other, treat each other as

equals, and resolve their disputes through peaceful negotiations. Only when

all countries undertake to observe these principles can there be genuine

democracy in international relations. We are convinced that as the world

moves towards multipolarity, an equitable and rational international order of

peace and stability will come into being.

The United States and the former Soviet Union or Russia have reached some

new agreements on nuclear-arms reduction in recent years. These agreements

have been well-received by the international community, which hopes that they

will be earnestly implemented by the countries concerned. At the same time,

it is clear to people that even after the aforementioned disarmament

agreements are fully implemented, the major military Powers will still be in

possession of the largest arsenals of the most sophisticated nuclear and other

high-tech weapons, and the capabilities to develop space weapons.

After years of negotiations, the chemical weapons convention has finally

been concluded. It has laid an international legal basis for a world-wide

elimination of such weapons of mass destruction. Though some of its

provisions are not fair and balanced, the purposes and objectives defined in

the convention have nonetheless won the unanimous endorsement and support of

the international community. We hope that these purposes and objectives will

be observed and carried out effectively in the interest of the security of all

countries.

China has all along stood for the complete prohibition and thorough

destruction of all weapons of mass destruction. Pending the realization of

this goal, it is necessary for the international community to take, as a

transitional step, appropriate measures to prevent the proliferation of

weapons of mass destruction in the interest of regional and world security and

stability. We maintain that international non-proliferation should be pursued

in a fair, reasonable, comprehensive and balanced manner without prejudice to

the legitimate security interests of any country, to its socio-economic

development, or to international cooperation in the application of science

and technology for peaceful purposes.

We oppose the attempt of a country to interfere in and obstruct the

normal cooperation between sovereign States under the pretext of preventing

arms proliferation. We strongly condemn the blatant violation of one's own

commitment to an international agreement by selling large amounts of advanced

weapons and equipment, in gross interference in another country's internal

affairs.

We would like to make the following suggestions in the field of

disarmament and arms control. First, all nuclear-weapon States should

undertake not to be the first to use nuclear weapons or to resort to the

threat or use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon States in any

circumstances whatsoever. Secondly, all nuclear-weapon States should support

proposals for the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones, respect the

status of the existing nuclear-weapon-free zones, and undertake corresponding

obligations. Those countries which have deployed nuclear weapons abroad

should withdraw all of them to their own territories. Thirdly, all countries

with space capabilities should follow the principle of the peaceful use of

space and immediately stop their research, testing, production, and deployment

of space weapons and refrain from extending their weapons systems into space.

In today's world, the gulf between the rich and the poor is further

widening. The population of the richest countries and that of the poorest

countries each accounts for 20 per cent of the world's total, but their income

gap has grown wider, from 30-fold in the 1960s to 90-fold in the 1990s. The

question of North-South relations has become more acute. Development and

peace are matters of equal urgency and importance.

The sluggish growth of the world economy, unequal and unfair trade, the

plummeting prices of many primary products and crushing debt burdens are among

the unfavourable external conditions which have continued to place severe

constraints on the economic development of developing countries. Quite a few

of them have suffered a constant drop in the growth rate of their per capita

gross national product (GNP). Some have even registered negative economic

growth rates. Their terms of trade continue to deteriorate, which hampers

their export efforts. They have found it even more difficult to attract

foreign investment and technology.

Peace and development are mutually supportive. They can promote or

hinder each other, but they cannot supersede each other. It is impossible to

preserve world peace without development. There can hardly be durable

stability and prosperity in the world in the absence of economic development

and social progress in developing countries. A protracted economic stagnation

or even decline in developing countries will also affect further economic

growth in developed countries.

Developing countries should mainly rely on themselves to achieve real

economic growth. While restructuring their economies to speed up their

economic development, many of them are reviewing their experience and

earnestly exploring paths of development suited to their national conditions.

No one can deny that the old international economic order, being

irrational and inequitable, is an important external cause of the poverty and

backwardness of developing countries. First and foremost, developed countries

have the responsibility and obligation to take effective measures, including

the following.

First, developed countries should set aside 0.7 per cent of their GNP for

assistance to developing countries in accordance with the relevant resolutions

of the United Nations; increase official development assistance, and address

the debt question and work to rectify the anomaly of the flight of capital

from developing to developed countries.

Secondly, they should observe the basic principles of the generalized

system of preferences devised by the United Nations Conference on Trade and

Development; dismantle discriminatory trade barriers; further open their

markets to developing countries; and endeavour to keep the prices of primary

products at rational levels.

Thirdly, they should resume and increase official and non-governmental

technical assistance and the concessional transfer of technology to developing

countries in order gradually to narrow the North-South gap in science and

technology and to facilitate the economic restructuring and technological

progress of developing countries.

It must be stressed that political stability is an important prerequisite

for the economic growth of developing countries. Assistance for the purpose

of applying pressure on the recipient countries will cause turbulence and

instability in these countries, which will be even more detrimental to their

economic development.

It is obviously one-sided and harmful to make irresponsible comments

about the human rights situation in developing countries in disregard of the

differences in 'historical backgrounds and cultural traditions as well as the

actual conditions in these countries. For the people of developing countries,

the right to subsistence and the right to development are undoubtedly the

fundamental and the most important human rights of all. In those areas hit by

severe natural disasters year after year, people are starving; in war-ridden

areas, millions are turned into refugees. How can people living in such

conditions enjoy human rights?

Establishing an equitable and rational new international economic order

based on equality and mutual benefit will be a reliable guarantee of balanced,

healthy and sustained growth in the world economy, and an important

precondition for gradually narrowing the North-South gap as well. The

achievement of this goal calls for serious dialogue between the North and the

South and joint efforts by both. As long as the two sides adopt a positive

approach, seek common ground on major issues while putting aside minor

differences, seek mutual benefit and actively look for ways to cooperate

effectively, the North-South dialogue will make headway.

The important documents adopted at the United Nations Conference on

Environment and Development and the Conventions on climate change and

biological diversity open for signature during the Conference reflect the

consensus and understanding that countries at different stages of development

have reached on environmental protection and economic development. We hope

that the obligations and rights in respect of environmental protection will be

fulfilled or exercised fully, and that global cooperation in this field will

provide scope for improved North-South relations.

The Chinese Government actively supports the proposals for a World Summit

for Social Development, under United Nations auspices. It warmly welcomes the

convocation of the fourth World Conference on Women, to be held in Beijing in

September 1995. The Chinese organization committee was set up in August this

year, and China will begin preparing in earnest to ensure that arrangements

for the conference in Beijing run smoothly.

The historic changes in the international situation have also presented

formidable challenges to the United Nations. The people of the world have

high expectations of this world Organization. How the United Nations will

adapt itself to the new international situation, address major international

issues in a more positive, balanced, just and reasonable manner, promote world

peace and development and play its role in the efforts to establish a new

world order has become a major concern of the international community.

The Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, has submitted a

detailed and extensive mid-year report (A/47/277) on the role of the United

Nations in maintaining international peace, which merits our careful study.

We appreciate his efforts.

The reform of the United Nations is now on the agenda, and its success

depends on sound principles and on choosing the right direction. We should

like to offer for consideration the following thoughts, which we think conform

to the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter.

The reform should contribute to maintaining the sovereignty of Member

States. Sovereign States are the subjects of international law and form the

basis of the United Nations. Safeguarding State sovereignty should be a

fundamental principle of a new world order.

The reform should facilitate the peaceful settlement of international

conflicts. The United Nations should be an international organization

dedicated to preserving peace and promoting cooperation. Only when it abides

by the basic norms governing international relations, persists in settling all

international disputes through peaceful means and opposes the threat or use of

force will the United Nations be able to maintain international peace and

security. The arbitrary use of military intervention by the United Nations or

the indiscriminate and wilful imposition of mandatory measures on Member

States would not be helpful to the resolution of conflicts, and, worse still,

would impair the credibility and role of the United Nations.

The reform should contribute to the balanced, healthy and sustained

economic development of countries. Economic development is a major concern of

the vast majority of the 179 States Members of the United Nations. In today's

world, the North-South economic gap keeps widening, and the gulf between rich

and poor is getting greater. The United Nations should attach great

importance to the question of development, as it does to the settlement of

international conflicts and crises. Only by so doing can it win support from

the overwhelming majority of Member States.

The reform should embody the basic principles of democracy, justice,

objectivity, rationality, efficiency and balance of interests. It is not a

matter that concerns solely a few big Powers, nor only the strong and the

rich. The balanced approach should not be discarded in disregard of the

reality. The reform should serve the general objective of establishing an

equitable and rational new world order of peace and stability. The reform

efforts will not receive understanding and support from Member States unless

their opinions on this matter are earnestly sought and discussed, and studied

fully and thoroughly.

From 1981 to 1990 China's GNP grew at an average annual rate of

8.9 per cent. In the 1980s significant changes took place in China. We enjoy

political stability, economic prosperity, national unity and harmony. The

Chinese people are enjoying their lives and work.

Since the beginning of the 1990s people in China have been working hard

to accelerate economic development and the reform and opening-up programme.

Spurred by Deng Xiaoping's remarks at the beginning of the year, this

programme and economic development have entered a new phase. The GNP growth

rate this year is projected to reach and even exceed 9 per cent. China's

economy has great vitality and its prospects are bright.

China has expanded its open areas. As a result, a new pattern of general

opening up has gradually taken shape, extending from coastal to border areas,

from areas along the Yangtze river to the provincial capitals. China has

further expanded the scale on which it can absorb foreign investment. In the

first half of this year contracted foreign investment reached $14.6 billion,

2.2 times what it was in the same period last year. During the same period

China's imports and exports reached $33.06 billion and $35.61 billion

respectively, up 23.4 per cent and 17.3 per cent over the same period last

year. The total volume of foreign trade for the year is expected to exceed

$150 billion.

China's reform and opening-up programme is by no means a matter of

expediency; rather, it is a long-term strategy, for it conforms to the popular

will and benefits the people. Therefore, it enjoys their support and is bound

to succeed. China is a force working steadfastly for world peace; its

political stability and the success of its reform and opening up will

contribute significantly to peace and development in Asia and the world at

large. China will, as always, support the United Nations in its constructive

efforts to promote peace and development. It will, together with the

Governments and peoples of other countries, work for the establishment of a

new world order conducive to world peace and common development.