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China is willing to work with all members of the Association of Asian Parliaments for Peace (AAPP) to foster closer cooperation and common development in the Asian region, Gu Xiulian, vice chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China said in Pattaya, Thailand Sunday.
Speaking at the first plenary session of the 6th General Assembly of AAPP, Gu elaborated China's view on attaining "peace, democracy and solidarity," the theme of the ongoing meeting participated by parliamentarians and delegates of some 40 countries.
"To maintain peace, we should stick to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, discard the cold war mentality, foster a new security concept featuring mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and coordination, and properly handle historical issues and conflict of immediate interests through dialogue while accommodation each other's interests and concerns," said Gu.
Benefited from rapid economic progress and social development of recent years, Asian countries, despite their great cultural diversity, now have created favorable conditions for building political democracy suited to their own national realities.
With regard to international affairs, China always insists on adhering to multilateralism respecting other country's independent choice of political system, economic model and social system, which is the key to preserve peace and stability in Asia and the world at large, noted Gu.
Incepted in 1999, AAPP has grown into an influential association of Asian parliaments and an example of multilateralism with increasing membership. The main objective of the association, as indicated in its name, is to achieve peace in the region.
Speaking of realizing solidarity, Gu pointed out that Asian countries need to foster a sense of Asian community, seek common ground while shelving differences, carry out consultation on an equal footing, respect each other and promote regional integration.
Apart from it, properly handle historic issues and conflicts of immediate interests and enhance exchanges and dialogues in various fields are also necessary to reinforce solidarity among Asian nations, she added.
Gu emphasized in order to enhance AAPP's role in promoting mutual understanding, trust and cooperation among Asian countries, its members should adopt a gradual approach, strive for consensus through consultation to improve and adapt the AAPP mechanism to the regional political and economic integration process.
China benefited from the support and help of other Asian countries for its development, while Asia's stability and prosperity is also inseparable from China's development. In this sense, China's National People's Congress is ready to work with all members of AAPP to contribute to better understanding, closer cooperation among all peoples and parliaments in the interest of last peace and common development of Asia, she said.
AAPP groups 39 member states and some 15 non-member states. The first AAPP General Assembly was held in Bangladesh in 1999, the second in Cambodia in 2001, the third in China in 2002, the fourth in Philippines in 2003, and the 5th in Pakistan last year.
(Xinhua News Agency November 21, 2005)
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