Full Text of Jiang's Speech at Welcoming Dinner

Jiang Zemin Calls for Fair New World Order

The following is the full text of the speech made by Chinese President Jiang Zemin at the welcoming dinner hosted by Israeli President Ezer Weizman Wednesday:

It is a great honor for me to visit your beautiful country as the new century and the new millennium are dawning upon human civilization. May I begin by thanking you, Mr. President and Mrs. Weizman, on behalf of my wife and my colleagues and in my own name, for hosting this grand welcoming dinner for us and for your kind remarks. I also wish to take this opportunity to extend my cordial greetings and good wishes to the friendly people of Israel and to pay high tribute to the Jewish nation that has produced such giants as Karl Marx and Albert Einstein.

"Take history as a mirror, and one knows why dynasties changed." Both the Chinese and Jewish nations have a long history and a splendid culture and both have made outstanding contributions to the progress of human civilization. And both had misfortunes in the past. The long evolution our two nations have gone through and the unyielding struggles we have waged amidst hardships and miseries not only attest to our national identity, i.e. persistence in self-improvement, but also represent the trend of the times - the human society is bound to overcome all difficulties and obstacles and press ahead towards a bright future. Eventually, backwardness, ignorance and evils in all forms will be conquered and progress, science and justice will prevail. This is an irresistible law of history.

Mankind has created hitherto unknown material and spiritual wealth in the 20th century, but has also been subjected to the scourge of wars and the threat of war. In the Middle East, ethnic conflicts, territorial disputes and endless flames of war have over the years taken countless lives and displaced numerous people. That has severely dampened the economic and social development of the region and affected world peace and stability. At the time when the Old Testament was written over 2,000 years ago on this fertile land, our forefathers in China advanced the doctrine that "harmony is the best option." Many stories of "burying hatchet" have been handed down in the Chinese history. Having gone through the long years, people have come to understand more than ever before how important this doctrine is and how precious peace can be. At present, the Middle East is at a historic turning point. Peace, stability and development have become a strong and common aspiration of all the peoples in the region. Due to reasons of history and the realities, there is no easy solution to the Middle East question which involves complicated contradictions. Nevertheless, to settle the question at an early date is the unshirkable historical responsibility of the people of all countries in the region as well as all the peace-loving and progressive people in the world. The settlement lies in peaceful negotiations rather than force, in cooperation rather than confrontation, and in mutual understanding rather than mutual exclusion. This has increasingly become a consensus drawn from past experience and lessons. Now thanks to the joint efforts of all the parties concerned, much progress has been made in the Middle East peace process. The relevant U.N. resolutions and the "land-for-peace" principle have become the basis for negotiations among the parties. It is gratifying and encouraging to note that leaders of the Middle East countries, with the vision and courage of statesmen, in a historical perspective and bearing in mind the greater interests of peace and development, are working hard for an early settlement of the Middle East question.

China consistently pursues an independent foreign policy of peace. The Chinese people have always cherished deep sympathy and friendly sentiments towards the people of all the Middle East countries. The Chinese Government has made unremitting efforts to help advance peace in the Middle East and facilitate amicable coexistence of all the peoples in the region. It is my sincere hope that confrontation will come to an end, disputes be settled and hostilities be removed in the Middle East and that concerted efforts will be made so that all the countries in this region will be able to concentrate on economic and cultural undertakings and all the peoples there will enjoy a peaceful and better life.

Today, peace and development represent the trend of the times. With the accelerated political multipolarization and economic globalization and the dynamic advances in science and technology, humanity is faced with not only rare opportunities for development but also grave challenges. All in all, opportunities outnumber challenges and hope outweighs difficulties. As long as the people of all countries work together, they will keep advancing the lofty cause of world peace and development. However, we must not fail to see that the world is still far from being tranquil. Regional conflicts and local wars have broken out one after another. There is not yet a fundamental change in the unfair and inequitable old international political and economic order. People in many developing countries have not enjoyed fully or at all the benefits from world economic growth and scientific and technological progress. The gap between North and South in development and wealth continues to widen instead of narrowing. The pace remains slow in improving the quality of life of the people in developing countries, who account for two thirds of the total world population, and for some, the problem of food and clothing has not yet been solved. Environmental degradation, excessive population growth, crushing debt burden, irrational utilization of resources and other problems are still seriously impeding the economic and social development of the developing countries. All this has caused the concern of many people of vision in the international community. For this reason, we have always emphasized that the maintenance of lasting world peace requires greater efforts and that there is still a long way to go before the objective of common development for all countries is attained.

Facts have proven and will continue to prove that political multipolarity serves world peace and development and conforms to the aspiration of all the peoples. With the collapse of the centuries-long colonialist system and the end of half-a-century Cold War, it has become increasingly difficult for hegemonism and power politics to go on and for the very few big powers or blocs of big powers to monopolize international affairs and control the fate of other countries. Naturally, the formulation of multipolarity will take a long process of development. Multipolarity is better than unipolarity, and political multipolarization is of great significance to world peace, stability and development. This has become an important shared understanding of the vast majority of countries and people and, indeed, an irresistible trend of the times.

To establish a fair and equitable new international political and economic order in keeping with the trend of the times needs the participation and joint efforts of the people of all countries, regardless of beliefs, social systems and development levels and of statesmen with foresight and sagacity. Big countries or blocs of big countries shoulder major responsibility for facilitating the establishment of the new order. So they should pay close attention to the demands and interests of the developing countries and make due efforts to safeguard peace, promote development of these countries and narrow the gap between North and South. The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter and other universally recognized norms governing international relations, far from being outdated, should constitute the basis of the new international political and economic order. It is necessary to reiterate time and again and earnestly put into practice the principles of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, persistent peaceful settlement of international disputes, sovereign equality of all countries, respect for the national conditions of countries, seeking common ground while shelving differences, and the principle of closer mutually-beneficial cooperation for common development. All these principles should be observed by each and every country. The course of human history and the experiences and lessons drawn therefrom are the best textbook for us to educate ourselves. I am convinced that after the vicissitudes in the 20th century, the people of all countries will, through an in-depth review and summary of the history, identify better the correct orientation in which the world should advance in the 21st century so that we will carry forward our cause and forge ahead into the future. In the 20th century, the Chinese people, after waging courageous and unyielding struggles against aggression and oppression, finally became masters of their own destiny under the leadership of the Communist Party of China and embarked on a socialist road to attain prosperity of the country and their own well-being. In the past two decades and more, the Chinese people have scored tremendous achievements in pressing ahead with reform and opening up and the modernization drive along the great road of building socialism with Chinese characteristics initiated by Mr. Deng Xiaoping. China's economy has maintained a favorable momentum of sustained, rapid and sound development, ranking the seventh in the world in terms of economic aggregates. Its overall national strength has increased markedly and the texture of life of its people improved notably. Today, the Chinese people are working hard to realize modernization, by and large, by the middle of the next century, turn China into a strong, prosperous, democratic and culturally advanced modern socialist country and bring about rejuvenation of the great Chinese nation. The Chinese people are ready to join all other peace-loving people in the rest of the world in contributing their wisdom and energy to world peace and development and an even brighter future for mankind.