In his speech to the general debate of the 59th United Nations (UN) General Assembly session on Monday, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing once again told the world how the country would conduct itself on the international stage. 

China will continue to hold to an independent and self-reliant peaceful foreign policy and stand for the establishment of a new concept in international relations with equality, cooperation, mutual trust, and mutual benefit as the core principles.

China has long endorsed the principle that all countries should neglect their differences in ideology and social systems, respect each other's security interests, promote greater democracy in international relations and settle international disputes through peaceful means other than by force.

Having undergone the scourge of two world wars and a nearly half-a-century-long military confrontation or Cold War between the United States and the former Soviet Union, it has become the heartfelt wish of the whole of mankind that countries in the world, big or small, rich or poor, should coexist in a peaceful and secure world and develop side by side.

The September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, and the following endless terrorist activities throughout the world, have demonstrated that terrorism, not any single country, poses the largest threat to world security.

That has made completely incorrect any country's assertion of another country as its enemy.

The still-widespread terrorist activities in Afghanistan, Iraq and beyond following the US military actions in the two countries which Washington said would make the world safer also demonstrated that terrorism, the common enemy of the whole of mankind, cannot be eradicated without coordination and cooperation of the world's members.

Li thus called on all countries to abandon unilateralism and double standards in the international arena and give the UN a full role in solving international affairs.

China will continue to promote multilateralism and support the reform of UN aimed at enhancing the world body's authority in international affairs and making it more representative of the massive developing countries.

This was China's higher-level attitude towards the UN reform following Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan's response earlier this month to how China looks upon the accelerated reform of the world body, especially the reform of its 15-nation Security Council.

It is China's consistent stance that the UN and its Security Council should carry out moderate-scale and reasonable reforms at an appropriate time to adjust the world's largest multilateral mechanism to the changed international situation and new challenges.

It is also China's unequivocal position that any UN reforms should lead to the strengthening but not the weakening of the world body, and a reformed UN and an expanded Security Council should give bigger voices to developing countries.

This is the direction China will work towards.

The positive responses Li Zhaoxing received from the audience strongly demonstrate that China's policy represents the wishes of the mass of countries in the international community.

(China Daily September 29, 2004)