China is firmly committed to peaceful development and endeavors
to uphold world peace and common development internationally,
President Hu Jintao said in Stockholm Sunday.
"China's continued and fast economic development has become a
major driving force behind the stable growth of the global
economy," Hu said in a speech delivered at a welcome dinner hosted
by the Sweden-China Trade Council.
Since the launch of the reform and opening-up program in 1978,
he said, China has witnessed a rapidly-growing economy, boosted its
productivity and increased the well-being of its people.
Between 1978 and 2006, China's gross domestic product jumped
from US$216.5 billion to more than US$2.6 trillion, growing at an
average annual rate of 9.6 percent.
China's fast economic development has both improved the lives of
the Chinese people and offered more development opportunities to
the world, he said.
However, Hu said, China remains the largest developing country
in the world, and it needs to make long-term and hard efforts to
modernize itself.
"The most pressing task facing China is to grow its economy and
increase people's welfare," said the president.
"The message that I wish to send to you is this: China is firmly
committed to peaceful development," he said. "It concentrates its
efforts on development at home and endeavors to uphold world peace
and common development internationally."
What China needs most is an international environment of peace,
Hu said, adding that China is striving to develop itself by
upholding world peace and to promote world peace through its
development.
Hu also said that China is committed to sustainable development
and the protection of intellectual property rights, and will
continue to implement its strategy of win-win opening up.
Hu is currently on a three-day state visit to Sweden and is
scheduled to return home on Sunday night.
(Xinhua News Agency June 11, 2007)
