Visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao, in an address to Saudi
Arabia's Shura Consultative Council in Riyadh on Sunday, called for
concerted efforts to build a harmonious world and promote peace and
stability in the Middle East.
World harmony
In the address to the Shura Consultative Council that advises
the king and cabinet, Hu urged the enhancement of dialogue and
cooperation among all civilizations in a bid to build a harmonious
world.
Efforts should be made to enhance cooperation among all
civilizations and ethnic groups to promote the great cause of
mankind's peace and development, Hu said.
Hu made the remarks as he was visiting the kingdom, his second
stop of a current five-nation tour, which has already taken him to
the United States and will take him to Morocco, Nigeria and
Kenya.
"In order to build a harmonious world, we should endeavor to
preserve the diversity of civilizations and courses of development,
adhere to dialogue and exchange of views between civilizations,
uphold the spirit of inclusiveness, allow cultures to complement
one another through competition and develop together by seeking
common ground while shelving differences," the Chinese president
said.
Hu said all countries should acknowledge the differences in
cultural traditions, social systems, values and courses of
development of other countries.
In no way should we use these differences as a pretext to point
a finger at other countries' internal affairs, nor should we blame
any civilization, nationality or religion for the world's existing
disputes and conflicts, the president stressed.
We should go for collective progress between different cultures
as to build a world where all civilizations coexist harmoniously
and accommodate one another, Hu said.
In order to build a harmonious world, we should also strive for
harmonious development of the global economy, he said.
All countries should take effective measures to push forward the
global economy in a balance, reciprocal and win-win direction and
make efforts to alleviate imbalance in development and eradicate
poverty, he said.
We should actively promote regional and international economic
cooperation, jointly solve problems arising from global economic
development and safeguard economic security, he said.
All countries should go for mutual openness instead of blockade
and endeavor to set up a open, fair and regulated multilateral
trading system so as to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results
for all countries, he added.
In order to build a harmonious world, we should also commit
ourselves to realizing peaceful coexistence among all countries, he
said.
All countries should abide by recognized international law and
basic norms of international relations, he said.
All countries should abide by the principles of mutual respect
for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression
and non-interference in each other's internal affairs, and respect
and preserve each country's right to independently choose its own
social system and path of development, he said.
Multilateralism should be upheld to promote the democratization
of international relations and safeguard all countries' right to
equally participate in international affairs, Hu said.
We should encourage and support efforts to peacefully settle
international disputes and conflicts by dialogue, consultations and
negotiations, and oppose willful use or threatened use of military
force, he said.
All countries should consolidate cooperation on an equal basis
to brave global challenges, the president added.
"Building a harmonious world with a lasting peace and collective
prosperity is a shared aspiration of all peoples around the world
and a necessary requirement of mankind's development," he said,
calling on all members of the international community to endeavor
to realize this ambition hand in hand.
Hu also reviewed the time-honored friendship between China and
Saudi Arabia, whose friendly cooperation in all fields, by the
efforts of both countries, has witnessed steady development since
their diplomatic ties were established in 1990.
Our all-round cooperation served the fundamental interests of
both peoples and made significant contribution to regional and
global peace and development, he said.
Terming China and Saudi Arabia as good friends with mutual trust
and trustworthy partners, Hu expressed the hope that the two
countries will make continued and joint efforts to contribute to
further development of mankind.
Middle East peace, stability
In the address, Hu said that a harmonious Middle East is in the
long-term interest of the people of the region and the whole world
at large, and peace and stability in the region is the common wish
of the whole world.
He said that peace and prosperity of the world could not come
without the stability and development of the Middle East, a region
of great influence to the world.
After the Cold War, the Middle East region has been generally
heading along a path of peace and stability, but has still faced
with various challenges, with some hot issues long hanging without
just and reasonable resolutions, new conflicts keeping emerging and
factors of uncertainty and instability threatening regional peace
and security remaining, Hu said.
All these have kept the region far from fully tapping its
potential for development, he said.
To build a harmonious Middle East, long-term strenuous efforts
could not be spared in the following aspects, he said.
Firstly, all parties should strive to realize regional peace and
stability through strengthening consultations and negotiations on
an equal footing, which are the only feasible means to settle
conflicts and disputes, Hu said.
Secondly, mutual respect should be upheld. The spirit of
inclusiveness must be upheld in handling differences among various
civilizations in the region and jointly building a harmonious
region where all civilizations coexist and accommodate each
other.
Countries in the region have their own histories and cultural
heritages, and the efforts and rights of different countries in the
region to independently choose their own social systems and paths
of development should be respected and guaranteed, Hu said.
Thirdly, cooperation in development should be encouraged.
Development is an important foundation and safeguard for peace and
stability, which is indispensable for lasting peace, he said.
Development should be realized through mutually beneficial
cooperation under the circumstances of globalization, he said,
adding that such cooperation would promote understanding and
friendship between various countries, and be conducive to common
prosperity and therefore to lasting peace of the region and the
world at large.
Peaceful development of China
On domestic policy, the Chinese president reaffirmed that China
has chosen and will adhere to the path of peaceful development
while continuing to play a constructive role on world arena.
Hu vowed that China will always uphold the banner of peace,
development and cooperation, and unswervingly pursue an independent
foreign policy of peace.
China will always stick to the path of peaceful development,
implement its mutually beneficial and win-win strategy of
opening-up, and develop mutually beneficial and friendly
cooperation with all other countries on the basis of the five
principles of peaceful coexistence and other universally-recognized
norms governing international relations, he said.
China will continue to play a constructive role on world arena
and work together with all other nations around the world to
advance the great cause of promoting peace and development of the
whole mankind, he said.
The Chinese and Arab peoples, both peace-loving peoples, have
carried out various kinds of friendly exchanges throughout history,
Hu said, noting that the two peoples have cultivated a profound
friendship by supporting each other in their fight for independence
and the improvement of their economy and the people's
livelihood.
The Sino-Arab friendship and cooperation have not only benefited
the common development of the two sides, but also have contributed
greatly to the advancement of human society, he said.
Hu added that under the current situation, China is willing to
work with all Arab countries to promote peace and stability in the
Middle East, and make joint efforts with them to build a harmonious
world of lasting peace and common prosperity.
(Xinhua News Agency April 24, 2006)
