CHINA / Official Publication
White Papers (2005)
Updated: 2006-03-13 16:23
White Paper on Peaceful Development Road Published
The State Council Information Office published on Thursday a white paper
entitled China's Peaceful Development Road. The document is composed of
five chapters, i.e., Peaceful Development Is the Inevitable Way for
China's Modernization; Promoting World Peace and Development with China's
Own Growth; Developing by Relying on Its Own Strength, Reform and
Innovation; Seeking Mutual Benefit and Common Development with Other
Countries; and Building a Harmonious World of Sustained Peace and Common
Prosperity.
Since the policies of reform and opening-up were introduced at the end of
the 1970s, China has successfully embarked on a road of peaceful
development compatible with its national conditions and characteristics
of the times. Along this road, the Chinese people are working hard to
build China into a prosperous, powerful, democratic, civilized and
harmonious modern country, and continually making new contributions to
human progress with China's own development.
The white paper for the first time completely and systematically
clarifies the Chinese government's and people's theory and practice in
this regard.
The full text of the white paper follows:
China's Peaceful Development Road
I. Peaceful Development Is the Inevitable Way for China's Modernization
II. Promoting World Peace and Development with China's Own Growth
III. Developing by Relying on Its Own Strength, Reform and Innovation
IV. Seeking Mutual Benefit and Common Development with Other Countries
V. Building a Harmonious World of Sustained Peace and Common Prosperity
Conclusion
I. Peaceful Development Is the Inevitable Way for China's Modernization
To achieve peaceful development is a sincere hope and unremitting pursuit
of the Chinese people. Since the policies of reform and opening-up were
introduced at the end of the 1970s, China has successfully embarked on a
road of peaceful development compatible with its national conditions and
characteristics of the times. Along this road, the Chinese people are
working hard to build China into a prosperous, powerful, democratic,
civilized and harmonious modern country, and continually making new
contributions to human progress with China's own development.
Looking back upon history, basing itself on the present reality and
looking forward to the future, China will unswervingly follow the road of
peaceful development, making great efforts to achieve a peaceful, open,
cooperative and harmonious development.
- Striving for a peaceful international environment to develop itself,
and promoting world peace through its own development;
- Achieving development by relying on itself, together with reform and
innovation, while persisting in the policy of opening-up;
- Conforming to the trend of economic globalization, and striving to
achieve mutually beneficial common development with other countries;
- Sticking to peace, development and cooperation, and, together with all
other countries, devoting itself to building a harmonious world marked by
sustained peace and common prosperity.
Peace, opening-up, cooperation, harmony and win-win are our policy, our
idea, our principle and our pursuit. To take the road of peaceful
development is to unify domestic development with opening to the outside
world, linking the development of China with that of the rest of the
world, and combining the fundamental interests of the Chinese people with
the common interests of all peoples throughout the world. China persists
in its pursuit of harmony and development internally while pursuing peace
and development externally; the two aspects, closely linked and
organically united, are an integrated whole, and will help to build a
harmonious world of sustained peace and common prosperity.
China's road of peaceful development is a brand-new one for mankind in
pursuit of civilization and progress, the inevitable way for China to
achieve modernization, and a serious choice and solemn promise made by
the Chinese government and the Chinese people.
- It is an inevitable choice based on its national conditions that China
persists unswervingly in taking the road of peaceful development. During
the 100-odd years following the Opium War in 1840, China suffered
humiliation and insult from big powers. And thus, ever since the advent
of modern times, it has become the assiduously sought goal of the Chinese
people to eliminate war, maintain peace, and build a country of
independence and prosperity, and a comfortable and happy life for the
people. Although it has made enormous achievements in development, China,
with a large population, a weak economic foundation and unbalanced
development, is still the largest developing country in the world. It is
the central task of China to promote economic and social development
while continuously improving its people's life. To stick to the road of
peaceful development is the inevitable way for China to attain national
prosperity and strength, and its people's happiness. What the Chinese
people need and cherish most is a peaceful international environment.
They are willing to do their best to make energetic contributions for the
common development of all countries.
- It is an inevitable choice based on China's historical and cultural
tradition that China persists unswervingly in taking the road of peaceful
development. The Chinese nation has always been a peace-loving one.
Chinese culture is a pacific culture. The spirit of the Chinese people
has always featured their longing for peace and pursuit of harmony. Six
hundred years ago, Zheng He (1371-1435), the famous navigator of the Ming
Dynasty, led the then largest fleet in the world and made seven voyages
to the "Western Seas," reaching more than 30 countries and regions in
Asia and Africa. What he took to the places he visited were tea,
chinaware, silk and technology, but did not occupy an inch of any other's
land. What he brought to the outside world was peace and civilization,
which fully reflects the good faith of the ancient Chinese people in
strengthening exchanges with relevant countries and their peoples. Based
on the present reality, China's development has not only benefited the
1.3 billion Chinese people, but also brought large markets and
development opportunities for countries throughout the world. China's
development also helps to enhance the force for peace in the world.
- It is an inevitable choice based on the present world development trend
that China persists unswervingly in taking the road of peaceful
development. It is the common wish of the people throughout the world and
an irresistible historical trend to pursue peace, promote development and
seek cooperation. In particular, further development of
multi-polarization and economic globalization has brought new
opportunities for world peace and development, and thus it is possible to
strive for a long-term peaceful international environment. Meanwhile,
China is clearly aware that the world is still troubled by many factors
of instability and uncertainty, and mankind still faces many severe
challenges. However, there are more opportunities than challenges, and as
long as all countries work together we can gradually attain the goal of
building a harmonious world of sustained peace and common prosperity. For
many years, China has consistently followed an independent foreign policy
of peace, the purpose of which is to safeguard world peace and promote
common development. As early as in 1974, when China resumed its
membership in the United Nations, Deng Xiaoping proclaimed to the world
that China would never seek hegemony. Since the policies of reform and
opening-up were introduced, China, keeping in view the changes in the
international situation, has upheld the important strategic judgment that
peace and development are the theme of the present times, and declared on
many occasions that China did not seek hegemony in the past, nor does it
now, and will not do so in the future when it gets stronger. China's
development will never pose a threat to anyone; instead, it can bring
more development opportunities and bigger markets for the rest of the
world. Facts prove that China's economic development is becoming an
important impetus for economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region and even
the world as a whole. It has become the national determination of China
to safeguard world peace and promote common development.
At present, the Chinese people are working hard to build a moderately
well-off society in an all-round way. Not long ago, the Fifth Plenary
Session of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China set
the main targets for China's economic and social development from 2006 to
2010, of which the principal economic target is to double the 2000
per-capita GDP by 2010 on the basis of optimizing its structures,
increasing economic returns and reducing consumption; and enhance
substantially the resource utilization ratio, and by 2010 reduce the 2005
per-unit GDP resource consumption by around 20 percent. To attain this
target, China, guided by the scientific concept of development with
people first, overall coordination and sustainable development at the
core, will promote the overall development of its economy, politics,
culture and society. While seeking development by relying primarily on
its own strength, China sticks to the policy of opening-up, engages in
extensive international economic and technological cooperation, and
shares with all other countries the fruits of mankind's civilization;
respects and gives consideration to others' interests, works with other
countries to solve the disputes and problems cropping up in cooperation,
and strives to achieve mutual benefit and common development; abides by
its international obligations and commitments, actively participates in
international systems and world affairs, and endeavors to play a
constructive and locomotive role; and gets along with all other countries
equally and develops friendly relations with them on the basis of the
Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.
II. Promoting World Peace and Development with China's Own Growth
Peace is the foundation for development while development is fundamental
for peace. For years, the Chinese government and people have made
unremitting efforts to create a peaceful international environment. They
cherish dearly the peaceful international environment jointly created by
the peace-loving and progress-seeking countries and peoples, concentrate
on their own construction and whole-heartedly seek development, and
strive constantly to make positive contributions to world peace and
development with their own growth, and promote human civilization and
progress.
China's development needs a peaceful international environment. Since
1978, when the policies of reform and opening-up were adopted, China has
endeavored to develop itself within a peaceful international environment.
Its GDP has increased from 362.4 billion yuan (about US$215.3 billion if
converted directly from Renminbi into US dollar at the average exchange
rate of that year) to 15,987.8 billion yuan (about US$1931.7 billion if
converted directly from Renminbi into US dollar at the average exchange
rate of that year) in 2004, an average growth rate of over 9 percent per
annum, calculated according to constant price. Its per-capita GDP has
risen from less than US$300 to more than US$1,400. China has also made
new progress in its building of political civilization, with its
democratic system being improved continuously, the freedom and rights of
citizens being protected and guaranteed by law, and its people exercising
their rights of democratic election, decision-making, administration and
supervision in accordance with the law. A legal system centered on the
Constitution has taken initial shape, and the basic strategy of ruling
the country by law has been implemented. Rapid progress has been scored
in its education, science and technology, culture, health, sports and
other undertakings, and the increasing spiritual and cultural needs of
the people have been constantly satisfied. The construction of a
harmonious society has been reinforced, and the state is working hard to
realize and safeguard social fairness and justice, increase creativity of
the whole society, beef up social construction and administration, and
maintain social stability and harmonious relations between man and Nature.
China's development is an important component of global development.
China has promoted world peace with its own development and made
contributions to the progress of mankind.
China has made contributions to the sustained development of human
society. Based on previous experience and the fruits of modern
civilization of mankind, it has adopted the scientific outlook on
development to transform its concepts, create new modes for growth and
enhance the quality of development. Over the years, China has persisted
in exploring a new road to industrialization, featuring high scientific
and technological content, good economic returns, low resources
consumption, little environmental pollution and a full display of
advantages in human resources, and striven to steer the entire society
along a road of sustained development of civilization, with advanced
production, affluent life and favorable ecological conditions. China's
success in population control has retarded the expansion of the
population of the world as a whole. China emphasizes energy saving, and
has adopted various measures in this regard. During the period 1980-2000,
its GDP quadrupled, but the annual consumption of energy only doubled.
Due to China's intensified efforts at environmental protection, its dust
discharge has remained the same as in 1980 despite a big increase in
installed thermal-power capacity. Its energy consumption of per
10,000-yuan GDP in 2004 dropped by 45 percent compared to 1990. China has
made medium- and long-term plans for energy conservation, aiming to keep
an annual energy-saving rate of 3 percent by 2020, to save 1.4 billion
tons of standard coal.
China has made contributions to reducing human poverty and improving the
quality of life. It has created a miracle by feeding nearly 22 percent of
the world's population on less than 10 percent of the world's arable
land. The living standards of its 1.3 billion people are constantly
improving. The Chinese government has lifted 220 million people out of
poverty, and provided minimum living allowances to 22.05 million urban
residents and aid to 60 million disabled people. The life expectancy of
the Chinese has been extended from 35 years before New China was founded
in 1949 to 71.95 years today, close to that of moderately developed
countries.
China has made contributions to safeguarding world peace and promoting
international cooperation. On the basis of the Five Principles of
Peaceful Coexistence, China has developed friendly, cooperative relations
with other countries and promoted peaceful coexistence and equal
treatment among countries. China has always adhered to the principle of
being a friendly neighbor; and has constantly developed good and
cooperative relationships with surrounding countries and other Asian
countries and expanded common interests with them. China has established
various cooperative relationships with major powers, and unremittingly
augmented mutual dialogues, exchanges and cooperation. China has also
expedited cooperation with a vast number of developing countries, to seek
common development by drawing on one another's advantages within the
South-South cooperation framework. Active in the settlement of serious
international and regional problems, China shoulders broad international
obligations, and plays a responsible and constructive role.
China has made contributions to world economic development. In recent
years, despite increasingly severe global economic fluctuations, China's
economy has maintained a stable and relatively fast growth, bringing hope
and a new driving force to world economic development. Statistics
released by the World Bank show that China's economic growth contributed
on average 13 percent to world economic growth from 2000 to 2004. In
2004, the world economy reported the swiftest growth in 30 years, while
China's economy grew by 9.5 percent and became a key driving force for
the former. Also in 2004, China's import and export figure doubled that
of three years previously, reaching US$1,154.8 billion, and its import
figure nearly doubled that of three years previously, reaching US$561.4
billion. By the end of 2004, China had made use of US$745.3 billion
paid-in foreign capital, and approved more than 500,000 foreign-funded
enterprises.
China has made contributions to the stable development of surrounding
areas. China has more than 20 neighbors that either border on its
territory or lie across the nearby seas. China's sustained economic
growth, social stability and its people's peaceful life also benefit its
neighboring countries. The Asia-Pacific economy kept a 6-percent growth
between 1999 and 2004. To ensure a stable environment for the continuous
development of its surrounding areas, China overcame arduous difficulties
at the time of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, and stuck to the
principle of keeping the value of the Renminbi stable while expanding
domestic demand, and helped to the best of its ability the victim
countries to weather the crisis. China played its role in finally
overcoming the crisis. In the case of the 2003 sudden outbreak of SARS,
the Chinese government took decisive steps, and cooperated with its
neighbors in effectively curbing it. Upon the occurrence of the Indian
Ocean tsunami in late 2004, the Chinese government and its people offered
timely and sincere aid - the largest external aid in the history of New
China - to the suffering countries in their rescue and re-construction
effort. The Chinese also expressed great sympathy and extended assistance
when South Asia was struck by massive earthquakes in October 2005.
Despite gigantic achievements, China still remains the largest developing
country in the world, with a formidable task of development lying ahead.
According to the latest statistics released by the World Bank and
statistics recently released by China, in 2004, China's aggregate
economic volume accounted only for 16.6 percent of that of the US, and
its per-capita GDP was merely 3.6 percent that of the US and 4.0 percent
of Japan, ranking 129th among 208 countries and regions around the world.
By the end of 2004, 26.1 million rural Chinese still lived under the
poverty line, more than 100 million farmers have to be provided with jobs
elsewhere, and the government is obliged to create jobs for nearly 24
million urban and rural residents every year. There is still a long way
to go for China to reach the level of the moderately developed countries
and achieve common prosperity for the whole country. China still needs to
make persistent efforts to strive for a peaceful international
environment for its own development, and promote world peace and
development with its own growth. This is particularly significant for
both China and the world as a whole.
III. Developing by Relying on Its Own Strength, Reform and Innovation
China will adhere to the scientific approach for development and have an
overall plan for domestic development and opening to the outside world,
and base its development on its own realities. At the same time, China
will maintain the approach of all-round, wide-area, multi-level openness
to the outside world, striving to attain a more balanced development.
The main problem facing China in its development is the contradiction
between its underdeveloped economy and its people's ever-increasing
material and cultural demands, and the contradiction between economic and
social development and the relatively strong pressure of the population,
natural resources and the environment. Past experience indicates that
fundamentally China must rely on itself to solve the problems in its
development. By doing so, the country will be responsible to the Chinese
people as well as to the people of the rest of the world. It is an
important principle that guarantees that China will follow the road of
peaceful development. China will not shift its own problems and
contradictions onto other countries, much less will it plunder other
countries to further its own development.
To achieve development, China will mainly rely on its own strength,
reform and innovation. It has many advantages and favorable conditions:
It has the material and technological foundation supporting further
economic development; it has an ever-growing huge market and a high rate
of private savings deposits; it has a large labor force whose quality, as
a whole, is improving all the time; it has an ever-improving socialist
economic market system and related policy guarantee; and it has a stable
social and political environment.
China intends to do the following work well in order to achieve
development by mainly relying on its own strength and through reform and
innovation:
- Adhering to innovation in ideas and systems. Practice over the two
decades or so since China introduced the reform and opening-up policies
has proved that, by emancipating the mind, seeking truth from facts and
striving for progress, China is able to bring into full play the
enthusiasm, initiative and creativity of its hundreds of millions of
people and open up new prospects for its modernization drive. China will
unswervingly push forward reform in all aspects, remain steadfast in the
direction of socialist market economy in its reform, intensify reform
with emphasis on institutional innovation, and strive to make
breakthroughs in some key areas and important links. Through reform,
China will enhance marketization of its national economy, improve the
state's macroeconomic regulatory system, and constantly establish
institutions and mechanisms conducive to an overall, coordinated and
sustainable economic and social development.
- Opening up the domestic market and increasing domestic demand. It is
China's fundamental stand and long-term strategic guiding principle to
expand domestic demand in its economic and social development. China has
entered a period when the pace of industrialization and urbanization is
being quickened, the people's income level is increasing and their
consumption structure is being upgraded. While changing its mode of
foreign trade growth, increasing imports and strengthening intellectual
property protection, and continuing to make contributions to global trade
and the world economy, China keeps up its driving force to maintain
sustained economic development through its huge domestic demand and
domestic market. This has determined that China should and most likely
will mainly rely on domestic demand for its development. China will
ensure that investment in fixed assets will increase at a reasonable
scale and pace so as to bring into better play the role of investment in
economic growth. By implementing correct income distribution and
consumption policies, China is relying more on domestic demand and
consumption to promote its economic development. In recent years,
domestic investment and consumption needs are increasing at a rather
rapid rate.
- Promoting the strategic adjustment of the economic structure and the
change of growth mode. China considers changing the growth mode a
strategic focal point, strives to base economic growth on the enhancement
of the quality of its human resources, efficient use of natural
resources, reduction of environmental pollution, and emphasis on the
quality and efficiency of its economy. China will take a new road of
industrialization - using the IT industry to promote industrialization
and letting industrialization support the development of the IT industry.
It will quicken the pace of optimizing and upgrading its industrial
structure, develop advanced manufacturing industry, high- and new-tech
industry, especially the IT and biological industries, increase the
proportion of the service sector and improve the level of services,
strengthen the construction of infrastructure facilities of basic
industries, and bring into full play the function of structural
readjustment in the change of the growth mode. China will work hard to
develop a cost-saving, recycling and environment-friendly economy,
establishing a national economic system characterized by intensification
and cleanness.
- Promoting scientific and technological progress and strengthening the
ability of independent innovation. China is striving to become a country
of innovation, and it is a state strategy to strengthen the ability of
independent innovation. It has made medium- and long-term scientific and
technological development plans, setting forth the objectives and tasks
for scientific and technological development for the next 15 years. China
is making every effort to enhance its ability of original innovation,
integrated innovation and re-innovation after absorbing advanced
technology from abroad. By reforming the scientific and technological
system and increasing financial input through various channels, China
will promote the construction of its national innovation system and speed
up the pace of commercialization of research findings. China hopes to
increase the proportion of funds for scientific and technological
research and development from 1.44 percent of the GDP in 2004 to 2.5
percent in 2020.
- Making every effort to exploit human resources. China will make effort
in implementing the strategy of relying on talented people to make the
country powerful. It will quicken the readjustment of the educational
structure and institute education aimed at all-round development of
students, with emphasis being put on compulsory education, especially
compulsory education in the countryside. It will make greater efforts to
develop vocational education and raise the quality of its higher
education, so as to greatly promote the development of education and
foster qualified workers and specialized personnel in all fields. It is
expected that from 2006 to 2010 the secondary vocational schools will
train 25 million graduates, and the higher vocational schools 11 million
graduates for the society. The enrolment rate of China's institutions of
higher learning will reach 40 percent by 2020. Meanwhile, China will
bring in talented personnel, especially high-level personnel, from
abroad, forming a favorable mechanism and social atmosphere in which
talented people keep emerging in large numbers and every individual gives
full play to his or her talents, thus providing abundant human resources
and intellectual support for the country's modernization program.
- Working hard to build a resource-saving and environment-friendly
society. Historical experiences show that to have a balanced and orderly
development of the world economy, the international community must handle
the energy problem properly. Through dialogues and cooperation regarding
energy, China is working with other countries to safeguard energy safety
and stability. China considers energy saving one of its basic state
policies. Centering on conservation of energy resources and raising the
efficiency of energy consumption, China is working hard to develop a
recycling economy so that it will garner the highest possible economic
and social benefits with the lowest possible energy consumption. China
has persisted in relying on its domestic resources and constantly
increasing the supply of domestic energy. China is not only a big energy
consuming country, but also a big energy producing one. Since the 1990s,
China has obtained 90 percent or more of its energy from domestic
sources. The potential of its domestic energy supply is still great.
Verified coal reserves account for only a small proportion of the
potential reserves. Moreover, it is likely that new oilfields and natural
gas fields will be discovered, and the future of new types of energy and
regenerated energy is promising. Meanwhile, China upholds the basic state
policy of environmental protection, and is making more and more efforts
to protect and improve its ecological environment, so as to create
conditions for sustainable economic and social development. In its
environmental protection efforts, China persists in putting precautionary
measures first, treating environmental pollution comprehensively and
preventing pollution at the source. China gives priority to environmental
protection, makes sure that the exploitation of natural resources is in
good order, emphasizes prevention of excessive exploitation of natural
resources, and intensifies protection of natural resources and ecology.
China will unswervingly carry out the basic state policy of opening up to
the outside world, and actively engage in economic and technological
exchanges and cooperation with other countries to raise the overall level
of openness. China has earnestly fulfilled the promises it made when
admitted into the World Trade Organization (WTO) by constantly improving
the management system and policies concerning foreign businesses in China
and creating a fair and predictable legal environment; opening the market
further and improving the environment for investment and trade; improving
the trade structure, enhancing the degree of freedom and convenience for
trade and investment, and creating a better environment for investment;
and, in addition, encouraging its own enterprises to invest overseas and
developing alongside foreign businesses. Opening up to the outside world
has played a very important role in promoting China's economic and social
development. The foreign capital China brings in makes up for the
inadequacy of capital for development. Domestic industries have been
growing rapidly thanks to the full utilization of overseas markets. The
introduction of advanced technology, equipment and management expertise
has improved the production technology and management level of Chinese
enterprises. Frequent exchanges with other countries make it possible for
China to share the fruits of mankind's civilization and improve the
quality of its own human resources.
IV. Seeking Mutual Benefit and Common Development with Other Countries
China cannot develop independently without the rest of the world.
Likewise, the world needs China if it is to attain prosperity. Following
the trend of economic globalization, China is participating in
international economic and technological cooperation on an ever larger
scale, in wider areas and at higher levels in an effort to push economic
globalization towards the direction of common prosperity for all
countries. Today, the mainstream of international trade is to share
successes, with all as winners. China adheres to its opening-up strategy
for mutual benefit. For this, it has made conforming to China's own
interests while promoting common development a basic principle guiding
its foreign economic and trade work, develops its economic and trade
relations with other countries on the basis of equality, mutual benefit
and reciprocity, and makes constant contributions to the sustained growth
of global trade.
China has exerted itself to push forward multilateral economic and trade
relations and regional economic cooperation, actively participated in the
formulation and execution of international economic and trade rules, and
joined various other countries in settling disputes and problems emerging
in their cooperation, so as to promote the balanced and orderly
development of the world economy.
China has been an active supporter of and participant in multilateral
trade system. Since its accession to the WTO in December 2001, China has
strictly kept its commitments to create more favorable conditions for
international economic and technological cooperation. China has sorted
out and revised some 3,000 laws, regulations and department rules,
continually improved its foreign-related economic legal system, and
enhanced the transparency of its trade policies. China has cut its
customs tariffs step by step, as promised, and by 2005 its average
tariffs had been reduced to 9.9 percent, and most non-tariff measures had
been cancelled. Banking, insurance, securities, distribution and other
service trade sectors have opened wider to the outside world. Of the
160-odd service trade sectors listed by the WTO, China has opened more
than 100, or 62.5 percent, a level close to that of the developed
countries. China has actively pushed ahead with a new round of
multilateral trade negotiations, participated in talks on various topics,
especially on agriculture, market access of non-farm products and the
service trades, and played a constructive role in helping developing and
developed members reduce disputes through talks. China, together with
other WTO members, has done a lot of work to spur substantial progress to
reach early agreement among the negotiators.
China has continuously stepped up participation in regional economic
cooperation. The building of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area is going
full steam ahead. Following the practice of zero tariffs on farm products
under the "Early Harvest Program," the Agreements on Trade in Goods and
the Dispute Settlement Mechanism Agreement were formally signed in
November 2004, and in July 2005 the free trade area launched its tariff
concession program, clearing the way for realizing its goals. At present,
the building of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is proceeding with
comprehensive and pragmatic cooperation, and its process to facilitate
trade investment has been launched in an all-round way. China has also
initiated negotiations on such free trade areas as the China-Southern
African Development Community, China-Gulf Cooperation Council, and
China-New Zealand, China-Chile, China-Australia and China-Pakistan, and
signed relevant agreements with its partners. China is also an active and
pragmatic participant in the activities of the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation, Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, Sino-Arab Cooperation
Forum, Asia-Europe Meeting and Greater Mekong Subregion Economic
Cooperation Program. China advocates the liberalization and facilitation
of investment in bilateral trade, and has signed bilateral trade
agreements or protocols with more than 150 countries and regions,
bilateral investment protection agreements with more than 110 countries,
and agreements with over 80 countries on the avoidance of double tariffs.
China sticks to the principle of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation,
tries to find proper settlement of trade conflicts and promotes common
development with other countries. Trade conflicts are quite natural in
international economic exchanges. Following international practice and
WTO rules, China has tried to resolve such conflicts through dialogue on
an equal footing and through the WTO dispute settlement mechanism. When
promulgating and implementing domestic economic policies, it tries to
take international factors and influences into account as well as the
impacts its own economic growth imposes on the outside world. Based on
its reform and development, China is serious in judging the effects its
exchange rate reform may bring to surrounding countries and regions, and
the global economy and finance. It has thus advanced the reform in a
steady way, adopted a managed floating exchange rate regime based on
market supply and demand, and linked and adjusted it according to a
basket of currencies, so that the Renminbi exchange rate will remain
stable at a reasonable and balanced level. China has intensified its
protection of intellectual property rights, improved the relevant legal
system, and tightened up law enforcement to crack down on all kinds of
violations.
Growing China is active in international economic and technological
cooperation, and provides good opportunities and a huge market for the
rest of the world. All countries, the developed countries in particular,
have reaped lucrative benefits from investment in and service trade with
China.
China's active involvement in the international division of labor and
cooperation is conducive to the reasonable and effective distribution of
global resources. As the largest developing country in the world, China
boasts an abundant labor force, the quality of which has been constantly
improving. It is a natural advantage of China in developing
labor-intensive industries and some technology-intensive ones. Along with
economic and social progress, as well as the improvement of the living
standards of its people, China's demand for capital-, technology- and
knowledge-intensive products keeps increasing, offering great
opportunities for foreign products, technologies and services, as the
country has now evolved into an internationally acknowledged big market.
China's foreign trade is mutually supplementary with many countries.
About 70 percent of China's exports to the US, Japan and the Europe Union
(EU) are labor-intensive, while 80 percent of its imports from the three
are capital-, technology- and knowledge-intensive. In the new structure
of international labor division, the country has become a key link in the
global industrial chain.
By importing cheap but good-quality products made in China, the importing
countries can reduce their expenditure and pressure caused by inflation
while satisfying the demands and enhancing the welfare of their
consumers. China's labor-intensive products enjoy unique comparative
advantages in the global market. Since 1997, US consumers have saved
billions of dollars every year by buying Chinese commodities - US$600
billion in the past decade and nearly US$100 billion in 2004 alone.
The expansion of China's reciprocal economic and trade relations with
other countries has benefited both in a tremendous way. China's imports
have kept growing by a yearly 16 percent since 1978, and the country
imported commodities worth US$1,270 billion in the three transitional
years following its WTO accession. In 2004, China became the world's
third largest importer, next only to the US and Germany, with US$148.47
billion of increased imports or 9 percent of the world's total growth of
imports. Also in 2004, China's trade volume with the EU, the US and Japan
totaled US$177.3 billion, US$169.6 billion and US$167.8 billion,
respectively, making them China's top three trade partners and main
sources of foreign investment. In the same year, China's trade volume
with Asian countries and regions amounted to US$664.9 billion, 34.2
percent up over that of the previous year. This figure accounted for 57.6
percent of China's total foreign trade value. In addition, China has
become the fourth largest trading partner of and a fast-growing market
for ASEAN.
The huge market of China offers such great opportunities for
international capital that investors around the world have benefited from
China's rapid economic growth. From 1990 to 2004, foreign investors
repatriated US$250.6 billion in profits from China. In 2004, US-funded
enterprises in China generated US$75 billion in sales revenue in China,
and their products earned another US$75 billion elsewhere. A 2005 survey
by the American Chamber of Commerce-People's Republic of China shows that
70 percent of American firms are making profits in China, and about 42
percent report a higher profit rate than their global average.
China's growing investment abroad has also fueled the economies of the
destination countries. At the end of 2004, China's net non-banking direct
investment abroad amounted to US$44.8 billion, spreading to 149 countries
and regions. Among which, US$33.4 billion, or 75 percent, went to Asia.
China's foreign economic and trade cooperation has tremendous potential
and boosts bright prospects. In the post-WTO era, China imported US$500
billion worth of commodities annually during the period from December
2001 to September 2005, which meant 10 million jobs for the countries and
regions concerned. In the next few years, it will import US$600 billion
worth of goods annually, and the amount will exceed US$1,000 billion by
2010. By 2020, the scale and total demand of the Chinese market will
quadruple that in 2000. During the process, the rest of the world will
find development and business opportunities in their reciprocal
cooperation with China, which will greatly accelerate the growth of the
global economy.
V. Building a Harmonious World of Sustained Peace and Common Prosperity
Mankind has only one home - the Earth. Building a harmonious world of
sustained peace and common prosperity is a common wish of the people
throughout the world as well as the lofty goal of China in taking the
road of peaceful development.
China holds that the harmonious world should be democratic, harmonious,
just, and tolerant.
- Upholding democracy and equality to achieve coordination and
cooperation. All countries should, on the basis of the UN Charter and the
Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, promote democracy in
international relations through dialogue, communication and cooperation.
The internal affairs of a country should be decided by its people,
international affairs should be discussed and solved by all countries on
an equal footing, and developing countries ought to enjoy the equal right
to participate in and make decisions on international affairs. All
countries should respect each other and treat each other equally. No
country is entitled to impose its own will upon others, or maintain its
security and development at the price of the interests of others. The
international community should oppose unilateralism, advocate and promote
multilateralism, and make the UN and its Security Council play a more
active role in international affairs. When dealing with international
relations, it is necessary to persist in proceeding from the common
interests of all the people throughout the world, make efforts to expand
common interests, enhance understanding through communication, strengthen
cooperation through understanding and create a win-win situation through
cooperation.
- Upholding harmony and mutual trust to realize common security. All
countries should join hands to respond to threats against world security.
We should abandon the Cold War mentality, cultivate a new security
concept featuring mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and
coordination, build a fair and effective collective security mechanism
aimed at jointly preventing conflict and war, and cooperate to eliminate
or reduce as much as possible threats from such non-traditional security
problems as terrorist activities, financial crises and natural disasters,
so as to safeguard world peace, security and stability. We should persist
in settling international disputes and conflicts peacefully through
consultations and negotiations on the basis of equality, work together to
oppose acts of encroachment on the sovereignty of other countries,
interference in the internal affairs of other countries, and willful use
or threat of use of military force. We should step up cooperation in a
resolute fight against terrorism, stamp out both the symptoms and root
causes of the problem of terrorism, with special emphasis on eliminating
the root cause of the menace. We should achieve effective disarmament and
arms control in a fair, rational, comprehensive and balanced fashion,
prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, vigorously
promote the international nuclear disarmament process, and maintain
global strategic stability.
- Upholding fairness and mutual benefit to achieve common development. In
the process of economic globalization, we should stick to the principle
of fairness, achieve balanced and orderly development, and benefit all
countries, developing countries in particular, instead of further
widening of the gap between South and North. We should propel economic
globalization towards the direction of common prosperity. The developed
countries should shoulder greater responsibility for a universal,
coordinated and balanced development of the world, while the developing
countries should make full use of their own advantages to achieve
development. We should actively further trade and investment
liberalization and facilitation, remove all kinds of trade barriers,
increase market access, ease restrictions on technology export, so as to
establish an international multilateral trading system that is public,
fair, rational, transparent, open and nondiscriminatory, and construct a
good trading environment conducive to orderly global economic
development. We should further improve the international financial system
to create a stable and highly efficient financial environment conducive
to global economic growth. We should step up worldwide dialogue and
cooperation on energy, and jointly maintain energy security and energy
market stability. We should actively promote and guarantee human rights
to ensure that everyone enjoys equal opportunities and right to pursue
overall development. We should make innovations in the mode of
development, promote the harmonious development of man and Nature, and
take the road of sustainable development.
- Upholding tolerance and opening to achieve dialogue among
civilizations. Diversity of civilizations is a basic feature of human
society, and an important driving force for the progress of mankind. All
countries should respect other country's right to independently choose
their own social systems and paths of development, learn from one another
and draw on the strong points of others to make up for their own weak
points, thus achieving rejuvenation and development in line with their
own national conditions. Dialogues and exchanges among civilizations
should be encouraged with the aim of doing away with misgivings and
estrangement existing between civilizations, and develop together by
seeking common ground while putting aside differences, so as to make
mankind more harmonious and the world more colorful. We should endeavor
to preserve the diversity of civilizations and development patterns, and
jointly build a harmonious world where all civilizations coexist and
accommodate one another.
Over the years, China has persisted in the policies of peace, development
and cooperation, and pursued an independent foreign policy of peace. In
the spirit of democracy, harmony, justice and tolerance, China has been
playing a constructive role, and making efforts to attain the lofty goal
of building a harmonious world together with all other countries.
China is working hard to bring about a just and rational new
international political and economic order, and stands for greater
democracy in international relations. China adheres to the purpose and
principles of the UN Charter, attaches great importance to the UN's role
in international affairs as the core of the international multilateral
mechanism, vigorously promotes multilateral cooperation to settle
regional conflicts and development problems, and actively supports the UN
to play a greater role in international affairs. China backs up UN
reform, and firmly helps safeguard its long-term interests and the common
interests of its members. China has joined more than 130
inter-governmental international organizations, including the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is committed to 267
international multilateral treaties such as the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and actively participates in
international cooperation in such fields as anti-terrorism, arms control,
non-proliferation, peacekeeping, economy and trade, development, human
rights, law-enforcement, and the environment.
China takes practical steps to establish fraternal relations with
surrounding regions and promote cooperation in maintaining regional
security. In line with the generally acknowledged principles of
international law and in the spirit of consultation on the basis of
equality, mutual understanding and mutual accommodation, China has made
efforts to properly resolve boundary issues with neighboring countries,
settle disputes and promote stability. So far, thanks to joint efforts
with various countries, China has signed boundary treaties with 12
continental neighbors, settling boundary issues left over from history.
The boundary issues with India and Bhutan are in the process of being
settled. China actively promotes dialogue and cooperation on regional
security, and plays a positive and constructive role in such regional
mechanisms as ASEAN + China, ASEAN + China, Japan and the ROK, Shanghai
Cooperation Organization, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, ASEAN
Regional Forum, and Asian Cooperation Dialogue. China has joined the
Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, lending new vitality
to the peaceful and friendly relationship between China and ASEAN members.
China plays a constructive role in resolving weighty international and
regional issues for common security. With respect to the nuclear issue on
the Korean Peninsula, China has worked tirelessly with the other relevant
parties, and succeeded in convening and hosting first the Three-Party
Talks (China, North Korea and the United States) and then the Six-Party
Talks (China, North Korea, the United States, the Republic of Korea,
Russia and Japan). China was instrumental in getting the participants to
issue a joint statement, thus mitigating tension on the peninsula, and
contributing constructively to peace and stability in Northeast Asia.
Regarding the Middle East issue, China encourages the parties involved to
resume talks and start a new peace process based on relevant UN
resolutions and the principle of "Land for Peace." As for the Iraq issue,
China advocates seeking a political solution within the UN framework, and
is making great efforts in this regard. On the Iran nuclear issue, China
has tried several approaches to persuade the parties involved to engage
in dialogue and find a proper and peaceful settlement within the IAEA
framework. Moreover, China is expanding its participation in UN
peacekeeping efforts, having sent military personnel, police and civil
officers on 14 UN peacekeeping missions, to the number of 3,000.
For many years, China has provided assistance within its capacity to
other developing countries to help them build the capacity for
self-development as well as engage in common development. So far, China
has provided assistance to more than 110 countries and regional
organizations for over 2,000 projects. China has reduced or canceled 198
debts totaling 16.6 billion yuan owed to it by 44 developing countries.
In May 2005, the International Poverty-Reduction Center in China was
formally set up in Beijing. In September 2005, at the High-Level Meeting
on Financing for Development, on the occasion of the 60th Anniversary of
the United Nations, President Hu Jintao announced the new measures China
would adopt to increase assistance to other developing countries: China
will give zero tariff treatment for certain products to all the 39
Least-Developed Countries (LDCs) having diplomatic relations with China,
covering most commodities exported by these countries to China; further
expand aid to Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs) and LDCs; through
bilateral channels, exempt or cancel in other ways within the next two
years of all the outstanding interest-free and low-interest government
loans due as of the end of 2004 owed by all the HIPCs having diplomatic
relations with China; within the next three years, provide US$10 billion
in preferential loans and preferential export buyer's credit to
developing countries to help them strengthen the construction of
infrastructure, promote enterprises of both sides to carry out joint
venture cooperation; within the next three years, increase aid to
developing countries, particularly aid to African countries in related
areas, provide to them medicines including effective drugs to prevent
malaria, help them build and improve medical facilities and train medical
personnel; and train 30,000 persons of various professions from the
developing countries within the next three years, and help relevant
countries expedite the training of talented people.
China continuously enhances exchanges and dialogues with other
civilizations to promote mutual tolerance. Opening, tolerance and
all-embracing are important features of Chinese civilization. As the
trend of economic globalization develops in depth, China, all the more
aware of the significance of exchanges and dialogues among different
civilizations, is working harder to get the rest of the world to
understand China, while absorbing and drawing on the useful fruits of
other civilizations. In recent years, China has cooperated with numerous
countries in holding Culture Weeks, Culture Tours, Culture Festivals and
Culture Years, thus helping promote exchanges and understanding between
the Chinese people and other peoples, and creating new forms for equal
dialogue between civilizations.
Conclusion
China is the largest developing country in the world. The 1.3 billion
Chinese people, taking the road of peaceful development, undoubtedly play
a critical and positive role in the lofty pursuit of the peace and
development of mankind.
The Chinese government and people are well aware that China is still a
developing country facing a lot of difficulties and problems on its road
of development, and therefore it still has a long way to go before
modernization is achieved. The road of peaceful development accords with
the fundamental interests of the Chinese people; it also conforms to the
objective requirements of social development and progress of mankind.
China is now taking the road of peaceful development, and will continue
to do so when it gets stronger in the future. The resolve of the Chinese
government and the Chinese people to stick to the road of peaceful
development is unshakable.
The Chinese government and people also see clearly that peace and
development, the two overriding issues facing the world, have not yet
been fundamentally achieved. Local wars and conflicts arising from
various causes keep erupting. Problems and conflicts in some regions
remain complicated and thorny. Traditional and non-traditional factors
threatening security are intertwined. The wealth gap between North and
South continues to widen. People in some countries are still being denied
the basic right to subsistence, and even survival. All this has made the
road leading to a harmonious world characterized by sustained peace and
common prosperity a bumpy and challenging one, and reaching the goal
demands long and unremitting efforts by the people throughout the world.
The 21st century has opened up bright prospects, and human society is
developing at an unprecedented rate. China has identified its goal for
the first 20 years of this century. That is, to build a moderately
well-off society in an all-round way that benefits over one billion
people, further develop China's economy, improve democracy, advance
science and education, enrich culture, foster greater social harmony and
upgrade the quality of life of the Chinese people. China is certain to
make more contributions to the lofty cause of peace and development of
mankind.
Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6
Related Full Coverages
NPC session ends, Premier meets journalists
Premier Wen Jiabao answers questions from foreign and domestic
journalists after the conclusion of the annual session of the National
People's Congress in Beijing March 14, 2006. The annual meeting of the
top lawmaking body closed at the Great Hall of the People. [Xinhua]
UNSC members meet for Iran nuke issue
Most Commented/Read Stories in 48 Hours
� Bird flu control long-term task: Vice Premier
� Top legislature mulls abolishing agricultural tax regulation
� Hebei court hears deadly land dispute case
� Top legislature mulls abolishing agricultural tax regulation
� Top legislature mulls abolishing agricultural tax regulation
Today's Top News
� Wen: We're keeping close eye on secessionist moves
� Premier rules out RMB surprise rise
� NPC endorses shift in economic policy
� Minister: Stay away from wild birds
� Wen: China to stay the reform course
Top China News
� Chertoff: China won't take back deported citizens
� Premier: No RMB surprise rise
� Rules to regulate TV entertainment contests
� Toll hits 21 in N. China coal mine blast
� China to press on with reforms: Premier Wen
Learn mandarin
