People's Republic of China, 1994

At the outset, I should like warmly to

congratulate you, Sir, on your election to the presidency of

the current session of the General Assembly. I am

convinced that given your outstanding talent and

consummate experience, you will fulfil this lofty mission

with distinction. At the same time, I should like to express

my appreciation and thanks to Mr. Samuel Insanally for the

positive contribution he made during his presidency at the

last session.

I wish to avail myself of this opportunity to extend a

hearty welcome and congratulations to the delegation of

South Africa, which is taking part in the work of the

current session. We are convinced that a united,

democratic and non-racial new South Africa led by

President Nelson Mandela will contribute positively to the

peace and development of Africa and of the world as a

whole.

The world is still undergoing profound changes, and

the transition toward multipolarity has accelerated.

Economic factors are playing a greater role in

international relations. Relaxation of tensions has become

the main trend of the world today. However,

hegemonism and power politics continue to hold out.

Regional hot spots flare up intermittently. Destabilizing

factors tend to multiply, thus compounding the volatility

of the international scene. The maintenance of peace,

strengthening of cooperation and promotion of

development remain the major challenges of our era.

To eliminate regional hot spots and settle

international disputes are the world’s priorities and the

common concern with which the international community

has been trying to deal in one way or another.

Experience has shown that such practices as interfering in

other countries’ internal affairs and resorting to pressure,

sanctions or even force at will cannot help; they can only

increase the complications and difficulties that stand in

the way of a final solution. In the interest of maintaining

regional peace and stability, the international community

and regional organizations should take an appropriate and

effective approach, that is, to promote dialogue and

negotiations between parties directly concerned so as to

reach a solution acceptable to all sides. This has been

best illustrated by the breakthrough achieved in the

Middle East peace process and by the progress made on

the Korean nuclear issue.

United Nations peace-keeping operations can play a

positive role, but not all of them have been successful.

Experience and lessons learned in this regard should be

summed up. It is our consistent view that peace-keeping

operations should strictly conform to the principles of the

United Nations Charter and the norms of international

relations. Such operations should be undertaken with the

consent and cooperation of the parties concerned, and an

impartial and unbiased attitude should be maintained. No

peace-keeping operations or humanitarian aid programmes

should be permitted to interfere in the internal affairs of

any country, still less to use force or become embroiled

in a conflict between the parties. A lesson should be

drawn from what befell the United Nations peace-keeping

forces in Somalia.

Here I wish to underline the importance of strict

adherence to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence

as the basic means to prevent international conflicts.

9

These principles, namely, 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, were jointly

initiated four decades ago by China, India and Myanmar -

called "Burma" at the time - and were subsequently

embodied in the 10 principles formulated by Asian and

African countries at the Bandung Conference and in the

purposes and principles espoused by the Association of

South-East Asian Nations and other regional organizations

of the developing countries.

The history of the past four decades has testified to

the immense vitality of the Five Principles. All nations,

notwithstanding their differences in social systems,

ideologies, values or religious faiths, can live in amity and

carry out mutually beneficial cooperation as long as they

abide by these principles. Failure to do so will lead to

friction, confrontation or even military conflicts. In a world

as diversified as ours, nations have no alternative but to

adhere to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and

to find common ground while shelving their differences in

order to live together amicably and pursue common

development.

The peoples of the world have long lived in the

shadow of a nuclear holocaust, due to the all-out nuclear

arms race between the two super-Powers during the cold

war, which resulted in a massive stockpiling of nuclear

weapons. Now the international situation has drastically

changed. Not only can we avert another world war, but the

chances have increased for the complete prohibition and

thorough elimination of nuclear weapons and for mankind

ultimately to eliminate the threat of a nuclear war.

China has always stood for the complete prohibition

and thorough elimination of all weapons of mass

destruction. The Chinese Government holds that a

convention on the complete prohibition of nuclear weapons

should be concluded in the same way as the conventions

banning all biological and chemical weapons, respectively.

As a signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of

Nuclear Weapons, China is in favour of its extension. Yet

a mere extension of the Treaty is obviously not sufficient.

With a view to ultimately ridding mankind of the threat of

a nuclear war and ushering in a nuclear-weapon-free world,

the Chinese Government proposes the following.

All countries that possess nuclear weapons should

pledge unconditionally not to be the first to use them and

should immediately start negotiations to conclude a treaty

on non-first-use of nuclear weapons against each other;

efforts for the establishment of nuclear-free zones should

be supported and all nuclear Powers should undertake not

to use or to threaten to use nuclear weapons against any

non-nuclear-weapon State or nuclear-free zone;

negotiations should be undertaken with a view to

concluding a comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty not

later than 1996; the principal nuclear Powers should

implement their existing nuclear disarmament treaties as

scheduled and go on to drastically cut back their nuclear

stockpiles; negotiations should be undertaken to conclude

a convention banning the production of weapon-grade

fissile materials; a convention on the complete prohibition

of nuclear weapons should be signed under which all

nuclear Powers should undertake the obligation to destroy

all their nuclear weapons under effective international

supervision; and international cooperation in the peaceful

use of nuclear energy should be vigorously promoted

simultaneously with the efforts to prevent the proliferation

of nuclear weapons and step up the nuclear disarmament

process.

The above points make up an integrated and

interrelated nuclear disarmament process. We hold that

all States, whether they possess nuclear weapons or not,

are entitled to participate fully in this process.

Since mankind has been able to make nuclear

weapons and tap nuclear energy for peaceful purposes in

the twentieth century, we are confident that in the twenty-

first century it will be able to completely ban and destroy

nuclear weapons and fully harness nuclear energy to

enhance its own welfare. Before the advent of the new

century, we stand ready to join the other nuclear as well

as non-nuclear States to blaze the way towards this lofty

goal and make our due contribution to its ultimate

realization.

It is now an international trend to give priority to

economic problems. Hence all countries are devoting

themselves to economic development and the expansion

of international cooperation. This year the world

economy has started a recovery and East Asia continues

to maintain a high growth rate. But there is unevenness

in the world as a whole. It is disturbing to note that the

impoverishment of some developing countries has

worsened. In the interest of common development, we

call for the abolition of protectionism and of

discrimination in international economic relations and

trade. Neither global multilateral trade arrangements nor

regional economic and trade cooperation should be

exclusive. The principles of openness, equality and

mutual benefit should be upheld. The World Trade

10

Organization, to be founded next year, should from the

outset be a broadly representative and open trade institution

based on equality and mutual benefit.

The world economy is an interdependent whole.

Developed countries should make more tangible

contributions to global economic development and the

expansion of international economic cooperation. Primarily

they should take effective measures to open their markets,

provide development funds, transfer technology and

increase assistance to the developing countries to reduce

their debt burden, thereby contributing to their economic

growth, social stability and relief from poverty. Such

actions will in turn bolster the economic growth of the

developed countries themselves.

The international community and the United Nations

should be more concerned with development matters and in

particular should actively help the developing countries to

achieve prosperity. We appreciate the Secretary-General’s

efforts in submitting the Agenda for Development pursuant

to General Assembly resolutions. We hope that our

deliberations thereon will serve to reinvigorate world

economic development and international cooperation.

The Chinese Government considers economic

development the central task of the whole nation and makes

reform and opening its basic state policy. This year we

have taken a new series of major steps to intensify the

reform and opening which have the effect of ensuring

sustained, rapid and healthy economic growth. Gross

domestic product, foreign trade volume and overseas

investments registered increases in the first six months of

11.6 per cent, 25.5 per cent and 54.9 per cent respectively,

compared with the corresponding period last year. We will

step up our all-directional opening-up and continue to work

for world prosperity. We have been striving for an early

resumption of our contracting party status in the General

Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. A solution to this matter

will be in the interest of both China and the world as a

whole. China needs to cooperate with the rest of the world

which in turn needs such an important trading partner as

China. A World Trade Organization without China would

be inconceivable.

Human society continues to move forward and make

progress. But social ills still stand out starkly such as

poverty, unemployment, the deteriorating environment, the

population explosion, refugees, illegal immigration, drug

trafficking, crime and injurious and unfair treatment of

social groups such as women, children and the disabled.

Some of these problems have become even more acute, and

have cried out for a remedy by the world community

through international cooperation. We consider that it is

necessary to step up such cooperation. Because

conditions vary, different countries face different social

problems. Each country has to draw up social

development policies adaptable to its own conditions.

International cooperation in this field should adhere to the

principles of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit

without political strings or interference in domestic

affairs. Developing countries account for the majority of

the world’s population and are in a disadvantaged position

socially. This is where the emphasis of the United

Nations social programmes should be placed.

In recent years we have actively supported and

participated in important international conferences on the

environment, human rights and population under the

auspices of the United Nations. We will actively take

part in the World Summit for Social Development, to be

held in Copenhagen next March. The Chinese

Government attaches great importance to the Fourth

World Conference on Women, to be held in Beijing in

September 1995. The Chinese people, our women folk in

particular, are preparing for and looking forward to this

grand event with tremendous enthusiasm.

In response to the call in the documents of the 1992

United Nations Conference on Environment and

Development, the Chinese Government has analysed the

actual conditions in the country and drawn up "Agenda 21

- White Paper on China’s Population, Environment and

Development in the 21st Century", which will be an

important guide in the formulation of our medium- and

long-term national, economic and social development

plans.

To ensure and protect human rights is an essential

part of a nation’s social policy. My Government makes

it a basic policy to constantly enhance the people’s

enjoyment of human rights commensurate with our

economic and social development. We always hold that

the principle of universality of human rights must be

viewed in the context of the actual conditions of a given

country. Conditions vary from country to country. It is

inevitable and normal that there is divergence of views on

human rights issues. We are in favour of dialogue on the

basis of equality and mutual respect so as to increase

mutual understanding. We are against using human rights

as a pretext to interfere in the internal affairs of other

countries.

11

Next year will mark the fiftieth anniversary of the

founding of the United Nations. Both the world and the

United Nations have undergone drastic changes in that half

century. The United Nations is the most representative

intergovernmental Organization of sovereign States.

Members of the Organization are equal, irrespective of size,

strength or wealth.

Notwithstanding its shortcomings, the status and role

of the United Nations in global international affairs remain

irreplaceable by any other international organizations or

groupings. It is the hope of the people of the world that

the Organization will better fulfil the mission conferred on

it by the Charter and and that it will make even greater

contributions to the maintenance of peace and the

promotion of development.

To cope with the greatly changed international

situation and grim challenges ahead, United Nations

institutions should undergo relevant and necessary reforms.

In our view, any such reforms should serve to maintain and

enhance the positive role of the United Nations in

international affairs and improve its efficiency. At the

same time, the reforms should take full account of the

concerns and interests of the developing countries, which

make up the majority of the membership, so that their role

may be enhanced. The function and role of the General

Assembly should be strengthened. Reform of the Security

Council must be aimed at facilitating a better performance

of its functions under the Charter. Any enlargement of the

Council’s membership must fully conform to the principle

of equitable geographical distribution to ensure broader

representation. Actions by the Council should better reflect

the collective will and common aspirations of the entire

United Nations membership.

To prepare for the commemoration of the fiftieth

anniversary of the United Nations, China has set up a

national committee, in accordance with the relevant United

Nations resolution. We hope that the commemoration in

various countries in the coming year will be used to review

the experience of the past and look to the future so that we

may carry forward the purposes and principles of the

Charter and enable the Organization to do a better job in

maintaining peace and promoting development.

It was sad that the first half of our century witnessed

two world wars with disastrous consequences for mankind.

The ensuing cold war cast a dark and menacing shadow of

war over the world for the greater part of the second half

of the century. It is gratifying, none the less, that we have

been able to fulfil the historic mission of eliminating the

centuries-old colonial system from the Earth within this

century. This is unquestionably one of the greatest

achievements of contemporary human society.

Looking ahead to the twenty-first century, we are

fully confident of the future of humanity. The Chinese

people will make common efforts with all other peoples

of the world to usher in a new century of peace and

prosperity.