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Blake Island, Seattle
20 November 1993
President Clinton,
Colleagues and friends,
This Informal APEC Leadership Conference
affords us an unusual opportunity of meeting with each other.
I hope that the Conference will facilitate Asia-Pacific economic
cooperation, enhance mutual understanding and trust and contribute
to world peace and development in the region and the world.
The world is approaching the 21st century.
We can draw useful lessons from a review of the past and a
survey of the future. The 20th century has seen tremendous
progress in civilization and fantastic advancement in science,
technology and productive forces. On the other hand, it has
been ridden by wars and fraught with insecurity. Two world
wars were fought, not to speak of innumerable other conflicts
or local wars. The world is now in a historic period of dramatic
changes. The end of the Cold War and the breakup of the bipolar
structure entail a positive evolution in international relations.
At the same time, we have seen many local conflicts and complicated
situations. The international scene is fluid and fraught with
unpredictables. The world is far from being safe. Global peace
and development still face severe tests.
What is gone is gone. Let us face the
future. What kind of a world are we going to usher into the
21st century? This is an important question that we, as the
current leaders, must carefully ponder and answer. There are
a few years left in this century. We still have time to act
and we certainly should try to achieve something. If we work
together to surmount difficulties and obstacles, we can help
bring about genuine peace and prosperity to mankind. People
everywhere will acknowledge that we have done something great
and significant. But if the world continues to be chaotic,
insecure and plagued by economic troubles at the turn of the
century, how are we going to account for this to the world
people? As we assumed leadership at a time of transition from
the old to the new century, we were predestined to carry such
a responsibility.
The Asia-Pacific region has made a tremendous
contribution to human civilization. Now it commands a great
deal of attention from the international community and occupies
an ascending place in global politics and economy. We are
pleased that as a result of our common endeavours, Asia-Pacific
has become a region full of dynamism and hope which enjoys
relative political stability, sustained high economic growth,
and a strong investment momentum, which holds out good prospects
for trade and a huge potential for cooperation.
APEC covers a vast and highly diversified
expanse in the Asia-Pacific region. It is the world's largest
economic region and possesses the biggest markets and most
favorable investment environment. The economies in our region
are highly compatible and complementary with each other, and
therefore have tremendous potentials for expanding cooperation.
In the final analysis, a country or a region owes its development
to a robust economy, and there can be no regional prosperity
without the development of the component countries. All of
us should adopt a development strategy compatible with our
own conditions and strive first of all to manage our own affairs
well. At the same time, we should go with the historical trend
of increasing economic ties among different countries and
regions by promoting international economic exchanges and
cooperation, especially within our own region. Asia-Pacific
countries should have a long-term strategic perspective. We
should look ahead into the 2lst century and exert concerted
efforts to ensure a sustained and steady economic growth in
each country and the region as a whole. Regional economic
cooperation should be geared to common prosperity and conducted
on the principles of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit
and opening to one another. In practical terms, we should
bilaterally and multilaterally conduct multi-form, multi-tier
and multi-channel cooperation progressively in the light of
the actual conditions and specific characteristics of the
region, thereby continuously opening new scopes for the economic
development of the region.
A region cannot achieve economic development
in isolation of the rest of the world. Asia - Pacific countries
should be oriented to their own region as well as the rest
of the world. We should open ourselves to countries within
and without our region. And we should work for a fair and
just economic relationship both within our region and throughout
the world. Many developing countries are weighed down by economic
woes and the gap between the North and the South continues
to widen. All this is seriously hampering world economy. If
all of us keep in mind the development of the entire mankind,
it will not be difficult for us to come to a common understanding
of the necessity and importance of reforming the existing
unjust international economic order and helping relieve the
developing countries from poverty. We will come to recognize
that this is not only an urgent call from the developing countries,
but also meets the actual needs of the developed countries
to bolster their economies. All countries in the world should
join hands and try to fulfill this common task so as to promote
regional and global economic well-being.
Economic development and cooperation would
not be possible without a peaceful and stable international
environment. No development is possible in troubled times.
This has been borne out by recent and past history. Global
order or disorder is largely decided by
the state of international relations.
Only when all countries abide by the principles of mutual
respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual
non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal
affairs, equality and mutual benefit and peaceful coexistence
can a new type of international relations be established and
developed and can world peace and development be ensured.
The Asia-Pacific region does not owe its
success to the formation of a bloc, be it economic, political,
or military. The boom in our region is attributable to the
policy of opening-up and cooperation, to the readiness of
learning from one another and supplying each other's needs,
and to the observance of mutual respect, equality and mutual
benefit. Proceeding from this viewpoint, we hold that APEC
should be an open, flexible and pragmatic forum for economic
cooperation and a consultation mechanism rather than a c1osed
, institutiona1ized economic bloc.
Thanks to her 15 years' efforts in reform
and opening-up, China has been able to score remarkable success.
We have achieved political stability, social tranquility and
accelerated economic growth. Our reform and opening-up programme
and the socialist market economy which we are building fully
tally with China's actual conditions, and have won the support
of people of all nationalities in our country. Our central
task is to go all out to bolster our economy. Our basic policy
regarding reform and opening-up will remain firm and unshakable.
Indeed, our reform and opening-up is irreversible. We will
only further deepen and build on it. What is also irreversible
is that China will enjoy greater economic growth and social
progress, and that our democracy and legal system will be
further strengthened. We have full confidence in our country's
future.
China practices all-directional opening-up.
We are open to the entire world, primarily to the Asia-Pacific
region. We have a strong interest in participating in and
promoting regional economic cooperation. It is our firm policy
to expand economic cooperation and trade with other Asia-Pacific
countries.
China unswervingly pursues an independent
foreign policy of peace and has been making unremitting efforts
towards the maintenance of regional and world peace and stability.
We never seek hegemony. We keep away from arms race and military
blocs and never seek any sphere of influence. We always strive
to develop friendly relations and cooperation with our neighbors
and al1 other countries of the world on the basis of the Five
Principles of Peaceful and Coexistence. China cannot develop
in isolation of the world. The world equally needs China for
development. A stable, developed and prosperous China will
by no means pose a threat to any country, instead, it will
only contribute more to the peace and development of the Asia-Pacific
region and the world at large.
Friendship and cooperation are the bridge
to lasting peace and common prosperity. Let us be sincere
friends; let us seek common ground and put aside differences;
and let us strengthen our cooperation and work together for
a more splendid new Asia-Pacific century.
Thank you.
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