Xinhua News Agency, United Nations, September 24th
Do your best for peace and development, take responsibility for unity and progress
——Speech at the General Debate of the 77th UN General Assembly
State Councilor and Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China Wang Yi
(September 24, 2022, New York)
Mr. Chairman, colleagues:
These are challenging times. The new crown pneumonia epidemic has been delayed and repeated, the international security situation has continued to be unstable, the global economic recovery has been fragile and tortuous, and various risks and crises have emerged one after another. The world has entered a new period of turbulence and change, and the evolution of a major change unseen in a century is accelerating.
This is also a time of hope. World multi-polarization, economic globalization, social informatization, and cultural diversification are developing in depth, and countries are increasingly connected and interdependent. The theme of the era of peace and development has not changed, and people of all countries have a stronger desire for progress and cooperation.
How to respond to the requirements of the times, grasp the trend of history, and jointly build a community with a shared future for mankind, China’s proposition is firm and clear:
First, we want peace, not war. President Xi Jinping pointed out that peace is like air and sunshine, benefiting without realizing it, and losing it is hard to survive. Peace is the precondition for all good futures and the basis for the common security of all countries. Turbulence and war are like opening a Pandora’s box. Provoking proxy wars can easily backfire on oneself. Pursuing one’s own absolute security will inevitably damage global strategic stability. We must persist in resolving differences through peaceful means and resolving disputes through dialogue and consultation.
Second, to develop, not to be impoverished. Development is the key to solving various problems and realizing people’s happiness. We must insist on putting development at the center of the international agenda, consolidate international consensus on promoting development, safeguard the legitimate rights of all countries to develop, foster new momentum for global development, and build a global partnership for development, so that the fruits of development can benefit every country and every country more equitably. one person.
Third, be open, not closed. President Xi Jinping pointed out that opening up is the only way for the prosperity and progress of human society. Engaging in protectionism will only be a cocoon, and breaking the link will certainly harm others and oneself. We must advocate openness and inclusiveness, dismantle barriers that impede the free flow of factors of production, safeguard the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core, and promote the building of an open world economy.
Fourth, cooperate, not confront. In the face of endless global challenges, the most powerful force is to work together, the most effective way is to help each other in the same boat, and the brightest prospect is win-win cooperation. Contradictions and differences will inevitably exist between countries, but mutual understanding should be enhanced on the basis of equality and respect. It is necessary to replace conflict with dialogue, coercion with negotiation, and zero-sum with win-win.
Fifth, be united, not divided. President Xi Jinping pointed out that all countries in the world are riding on a big ship with a shared destiny. To cross the stormy seas and sail towards a bright future, they must help each other in the same boat. A sustainable world should carry colorful civilizations, and human modernization should be compatible with various paths. Peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom are the common values of all mankind. Institutional differences should not be the reason for division. Democracy and human rights should not be politicized, instrumentalized, or weaponized. We should abandon ideological lines, and unite to draw the greatest common denominator and draw the greatest concentric circles for the cause of world peace and development.
Sixth, be fair and don’t bully. Mutual respect and equality between large and small countries are the overriding principles of the UN Charter. International affairs must be jointly participated by all countries, and international rules must be jointly formulated by all countries. There is no superior country in this world, nor should it easily bully other sovereign countries with its position of strength. We must actively advocate and practice genuine multilateralism, promote equality of rights, rules and opportunities for all countries, and build a new type of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness and justice, and win-win cooperation.
Mr. Chairman, colleagues,
As a permanent member of the UN Security Council and the largest developing country in the world, China firmly stands on the side of solidarity and cooperation, the trend of the times, and the common interests of the vast majority of countries.
China has always been a builder of world peace. We actively promote the cause of international peace and participate in the process of international arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation. We are the permanent member of the Security Council with the largest number of peacekeepers, and the second largest contributor to peacekeeping and peacekeeping in the United Nations. China is also the only country in the world that has enshrined “adherence to the path of peaceful development” in its constitution, the only country among the five nuclear-weapon states that has promised not to be the first to use nuclear weapons, and a country that has made important contributions to maintaining global strategic stability.
In the face of today’s various security challenges, President Xi Jinping proposed a global security initiative, calling on the international community to adhere to a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security concept, to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, to abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and to attach importance to all countries. Reasonable security concerns, adhere to the peaceful settlement of disputes through dialogue and consultation, adhere to the overall maintenance of traditional and non-traditional security, contribute Chinese wisdom to make up for the human peace deficit, and provide Chinese solutions to international security challenges.
China has always been a contributor to global development. We actively build a high-level opening system to maintain the security and stability of the global industrial chain and supply chain. We have become a major trading partner of more than 130 countries and regions. As the biggest engine of world economic growth, China contributes about 30% to global growth every year. . China has implemented the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as an example, achieved the Agenda’s poverty reduction goal 10 years ahead of schedule, and contributed more than 70% to global poverty reduction. China actively participates in global governance and South-South cooperation, and actively establishes the “China-United Nations Peace and Development Fund” and “Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund” to provide development assistance to more than 160 countries in need. The member country with the largest amount of debt relief to developing countries.
At the 76th UN General Assembly, President Xi Jinping solemnly proposed a global development initiative, adhering to the people-centered concept, sounding the “collection” of refocusing on development, and calling on the international community to build a global development community. Not long ago, President Xi Jinping presided over a high-level dialogue on global development and announced dozens of major and practical measures to implement the initiative, injecting strong impetus to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. During the current session of the UN General Assembly, China hosted the ministerial meeting of the “Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative” to gather new consensus for advancing the initiative. The fast train of China’s development is galloping forward, and it will continue to provide impetus to world growth and bring benefits to the people of all countries.
China has always been the defender of the international order. We have always firmly upheld the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, the international system with the UN at its core, and the international order based on international law. China has fully participated in multilateral affairs, joined almost all universal intergovernmental international organizations and more than 600 international conventions, concluded more than 27,000 bilateral treaties, and earnestly fulfilled its international obligations. China has always followed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and has continued to protect and strengthen China’s human rights cause.
As a member of the developing countries, China will always stand on the side of the vast number of developing countries. We are sincerely pleased with the rapid progress made by developing countries in recent years. We will continue to speak out for developing countries, help them out of difficulties, and fully support the promotion of developing countries’ representation and voice in international affairs. In the international multilateral process, the vast number of developing countries are no longer the “silent majority”. China and the developing countries have become more united, voiced a voice for justice, and become the mainstay of promoting development cooperation and maintaining fairness and justice.
China has always been a provider of public goods. In the face of the new crown epidemic, China has made every effort to promote and participate in international anti-epidemic cooperation, provide anti-epidemic materials and share epidemic prevention experience as much as it can, and was the first to pledge to make the new crown vaccine as a global public good, and the first to support the exemption of intellectual property rights for vaccines. More than 2.2 billion doses of vaccines have been delivered by countries and international organizations.
Facing the development problems that plague the world, President Xi Jinping advocated the promotion of high-quality joint construction of the “Belt and Road”, which has been widely welcomed by the international community. China has signed cooperation documents with 149 countries and 32 international organizations in the world. It has also established the AIIB and the Silk Road Fund, creating the most extensive, inclusive and largest international cooperation platform.
Facing the common concerns of all countries on data security, we launched the Global Data Security Initiative to provide reference for the formulation of global digital security rules.
In the face of global climate change, China has firmly adhered to the path of ecological priority, green and low-carbon development, announced ambitious “dual carbon” goals, and promoted the implementation of the Paris Agreement. Afforestation accounts for one-fourth of the world‘s artificial afforestation. The natural life community makes unremitting efforts.
In the face of global food security issues, China has proposed an international food security cooperation initiative. Since this year, it has provided more than 15,000 tons of emergency humanitarian food aid to developing countries in need.
China has always been the mediator of hotspot issues. As a responsible major country, China strives to explore and practice solutions to hot-spot issues with Chinese characteristics. On the premise of non-interference in internal affairs, and in accordance with the wishes and needs of the countries concerned, China constructively participates in the resolution of hot-spot issues, mainly by persuading peace and promoting talks. , with fairness and pragmatism as the main attitude, and treating both the symptoms and root causes as the main idea.
China supports all efforts that are conducive to a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian crisis. The top priority is to persuade peace and promote talks. The fundamental solution is to accommodate the reasonable security concerns of all parties and build a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture. We call on all parties to curb the spillover effects of the crisis and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries.
The question of Palestine is the core of the Middle East issue. Justice has been late, but it must not be absent. The “two-state solution” is the bottom line of fairness and justice and must be upheld. China, as always, supports the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights.
To resolve the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, it is necessary to get to the bottom of the issue, adhere to the “dual-track progress” and “phase-by-phase and simultaneous progress”, jointly maintain peace and stability on the peninsula, and resolve the issue through dialogue and consultation.
Afghanistan is in a critical period from chaos to governance. Inclusive and moderate governance is the direction, economic recovery and improvement of people’s livelihood are the fundamentals, and resolute fighting against terror and integration into the region are the key points.
The wrong practice of a small number of countries imposing indiscriminate unilateral sanctions, cutting off development aid, and freezing other countries’ legitimate assets must be corrected. China firmly supports the just struggle of the Cuban people to defend national sovereignty and oppose foreign interference and blockade.
The problem of the proliferation of guns around the world is getting worse. I would like to announce here that China has decided to start the domestic ratification process of the UN Firearms Protocol, which will make new contributions to strengthening global cooperation on gun control and eliminating the security deficit.
Mr. Chairman, colleagues,
Taiwan has been an inalienable part of China’s territory since ancient times. China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity have never been divided, the fact that the mainland and Taiwan belong to the same China has never changed, and the efforts of all Chinese sons and daughters to pursue the reunification of the motherland have never stopped.
More than 70 years ago, the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation clearly stipulated that the Chinese territory stolen by Japan, including Taiwan and the Penghu Islands, should be returned to China, which constituted an important part of the post-World War II international order. It was in this solemn hall 51 years ago that the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly passed Resolution 2758, which decided to restore the legitimate seat of the People’s Republic of China in the United Nations and remove the “representative” of the Taiwan authorities from its illegally occupied seat. expel. The so-called “dual representation” proposal put forward by a few countries such as the United States to retain Taiwan’s seat in the United Nations has become a piece of waste paper. Resolution 2758 of the UN General Assembly completely resolved the issue of the representation of the whole of China, including Taiwan, in the UN and international institutions politically, legally and procedurally, and completely blocked any attempt by anyone or any country to create “two China” or “One China, One Taiwan” space.
The one-China principle has become the basic norm of international relations and the general consensus of the international community. All 181 countries have recognized and accepted it when they established diplomatic relations with China. There is only one China in the world, Taiwan is a part of China, and the government of the People’s Republic of China is the only legitimate government representing the whole of China. China firmly upholds the one-China principle, not only to safeguard its own national sovereignty and territorial integrity, but also to truly maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and maintain non-interference in internal affairs, the basic norm for developing countries in international relations.
China is willing to continue to achieve the peaceful reunification of the two sides with the greatest sincerity and best efforts. In order to achieve this goal, we must crack down on “Taiwan independence” separatist activities with the firmest determination, and take the strongest measures to eliminate external interference. Only when the split is resolutely stopped in accordance with the law can the peaceful reunification of the two sides have a realistic foundation; only when the country achieves complete reunification can the Taiwan Strait truly usher in lasting peace. Any attempt to interfere in China’s internal affairs will be unanimously opposed by the Chinese people, and any attempt to block China’s great cause of reunification will be crushed by the wheel of history.
Mr. Chairman, colleagues,
The international community pays close attention to China’s development. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era. This decade is not only a decade of historic achievements and changes in China’s economic and social development, but also a decade of historic leaps in China’s relations with the world and historic contributions to the international community.
China is fully implementing the new development concept of innovation, coordination, green, openness and sharing, focusing on high-quality development and building a new development pattern. With the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China, the united struggle of the 1.4 billion people, the remarkable advantages of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the solid foundation for sustained and rapid development, and the spiritual strength of self-confidence and self-improvement, China’s development trend will be positive for a long time, and China’s progressive The future is brighter, and the story of the Chinese miracle will be even more exciting.
Mr. Chairman, colleagues,
China, which accounts for one-fifth of the world‘s population, has made great strides toward modernization, which has important and far-reaching world significance. The path China pursues is peaceful development rather than plunder and colonization, win-win cooperation rather than zero-sum game, and harmonious coexistence between man and nature rather than exhaustion. We will continue to provide Chinese wisdom to solve the problems of human development and make Chinese contributions to the creation of a new form of human civilization.
Next month, the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China will be held in Beijing. This conference will uphold the will of all Chinese people, scientifically plan the goals and tasks of national development in the next five years or even longer, and comprehensively draw a grand blueprint for China’s future development. Standing at a new historical starting point, China will realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with Chinese-style modernization, and work with other countries in the world to do its best for peaceful development, to take responsibility for unity and progress, to build a community with a shared future for mankind, and to jointly create a better world.
thank you all!