 China will do more for progress and peace
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-01-10 07:47 On Dec 30, 2008, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi was interviewed by CCTV's News Weekly program correspondent Bai Yansong. The interview was broadcast on Jan 4, 2009. While talking about China's surrounding environment, Yang said the country's neighbors last year were confronted with many challenges, such as the terrorist attacks in Mumbai and the political turmoil in Thailand. There were many reasons behind these incidents, including the political and economic transition in some countries, the havoc of extremism and terrorism and unexpected external factors like the ongoing global financial crisis. Asian countries must strengthen dialogue and cooperation. China follows a policy of seeking amicable relations and partnerships with its neighbors. That means we hope our neighbors will enjoy political stability and economic growth, and we want to be true partners. We will continue to play an important part in maintaining stability and development in Asia, which includes addressing the financial crisis and combating terrorism. Yang said that the Sino-Russian strategic partnership of coordination has maintained sound growth. In 2008, President Hu Jintao and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev met five times, giving a strong boost to bilateral ties. In the wake of the devastating Wenchuan earthquake, Russia sent a rescue team and a medical team to China. At President Medvedev's invitation, more than 1,000 children from the quake-afflicted areas went to different parts of Russia on a vacation. Yang believed that these children and their young Russian hosts will become a bridge of friendship between the two countries. The year 2009 marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Russia and Russian language year will be held here, followed by a Chinese language year in Russia in 2010. Language is the underpinning of culture activities during the language year that will be profound and far-reaching. Yang characterized the past few years as eventful for China-Japan relations. In 2008, President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda signed the China-Japan Joint Statement on All-round Promotion of Strategic Relationship of Mutual Benefit, a very important political document, which serves as a long-term guide for the development of bilateral relations in the new century.
China and Japan enjoy geographical proximity and cultural affinity and have many shared interests. Both are major economies in Asia and should have more exchanges and discussions on how to maintain economic growth in the continent and address the international financial crisis. When asked about the new thinking of China's diplomacy under current circumstances, Yang said that China now has more and broader platforms for conducting diplomacy. This is mainly because the world has entered into an era of globalization and information technology, and the country's strength, influence and role have notably increased. During the Beijing Olympic Games, the Asia-Europe Meeting and other diplomatic activities in 2008, we received more than 180 foreign heads of state and government as well as other leaders. This is something unprecedented in the history of the People's Republic of China. We must implement the Scientific Outlook on Development and ensure overall consideration in the following aspects: First, take into consideration both the domestic and the international situation. The outside world has an important influence on China's development, and China's development, in turn, has a major impact on the development of the world situation. In conducting diplomacy, we must keep in mind the overall picture. Second, combine region-specific diplomacy with issue-specific diplomacy. The financial crisis, for instance, is not a problem of one particular region, it concerns a specific sector and will probably spread to other sectors. We must study and fully understand how it will affect the economic and social development of China and the world, and how it will affect China's relations with relevant countries. Last, attach importance to both bilateral and multilateral diplomacy. We will continue to develop friendly relations and cooperation with major countries, our neighbors, and the developing world. At the same time, we will make good use of the United Nations and other multilateral forums. This way, our efforts on bilateral and multilateral diplomatic fronts will reinforce each other. On China's role in the world, Yang said that our strength, role and influence have become bigger than before. With the further growth of our national strength, we will do even more for world peace and development in future. We must also remember, however, that China remains a developing country. Our per capita GDP trails behind more than 100 countries. It will do nobody any good if we try to do things beyond our capacity. On ties with the EU, Yang said that China-EU relations made some progress in 2008, but also went through some twists and turns. The two sides maintained high-level contacts, and the business relations continued to move forward. In our relief and rescue efforts in the aftermath of the earthquake, the people and governments of some European countries provided generous assistance. Some countries sent medical teams to the afflicted areas. But on the other hand, some people in Europe did make some mistakes, interfering in China's internal affairs. China and EU should understand each other from a long-term and strategic perspective. China and Europe differ in terms of history, culture and level of development. We should respect each other and strengthen exchanges and cooperation. The two sides have a host of common interests and I am full of hope about the long-term prospects of China-EU relations, Yang said. The year 2009 marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the US. Yang said that the past 30 years have witnessed tremendous progress in China-US relations. Mr Deng Xiaoping visited the US shortly after the establishment of diplomatic relations and that visit ushered in a new era of China-US ties. President Jiang Zemin's visit to the US in 1997 took place at a time when bilateral relations were at a turning point following the end of the Cold War. It set the tone for China-US relations, that is, we should keep the relations on the track of sound and steady development. President Hu paid a state visit to the US in 2006. The two sides decided during that visit to develop sound and stable relations, geared toward the 21st century. The China-US bilateral trade has surged from $2 billion at the beginning of our diplomatic relations to $300 billion today. There were few people-to-people contacts 30 years ago. Today, there are 5,000 mutual visits every day. The nature of China-US relations has been clearly defined. We are both stakeholders and constructive partners. We need each other and our interests are closely interconnected. The past seven years and more have been the longest period of steady growth of China-US relations. Of course, there are always issues that need to be handled carefully. As long as the two sides properly handle the sensitive issues in accordance with the principles of the three joint communiqus and their commitments, respect each other and refrain from interfering in each other's internal affairs, the relations will continue to grow in a steady and sound manner. Talking about the incoming US administration, Yang said that a few days ago, President Hu Jintao had a telephone conversation with Barack Obama. Both sides expressed their readiness to move the bilateral ties. Obama knows the situation in the world and in Asia and we believe he will handle China-US relations from a strategic and long-term perspective. China and the US have a lot of common interests in counter-terrorism, environmental protection, combating transnational crimes and tackling hot-spot issues. We hope that the relations between China and the new US administration will get off to a good start. Both China and the US are big countries. A good relationship between them serves the fundamental interests of the people of the two countries and is conducive to peace, stability and development of the region and the world at large. Yang said that Latin America and the Caribbean region enjoy exciting prospects of development. In recent years, in addition to good political relations, China's trade with Latin America and the Caribbean region has also registered a big increase from more than $6 billion in the mid 1990s to over $100 billion at present. China has become the largest or the second largest trading partner of many countries in Latin America. President Hu Jintao paid a successful state visit to Costa Rica, Cuba and Peru not long ago, which has given a strong boost to China's relations with these three countries and with Latin America as a whole. When asked about his upcoming visit to Africa, Yang said China values friendship and cooperation with Africa Africa is always the first place that the Chinese foreign minister visits every year. Over the years, our African brothers have given us a lot of support in various aspects, including our post-earthquake relief and reconstruction campaign and the hosting of the Olympic Games. At the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2006, President Hu Jintao announced eight measures for strengthening practical cooperation with Africa. The implementation of many of these measures has been completed and that of others is in progress. The year 2009 will be the last year for the implementation of these eight measures. We will make every effort to ensure the success of these measures. (China Daily 01/10/2009 page4) |
