 |
Jiang: Perfecting `Shanghai Five' Mechanism
Chinese President Jiang Zemin called for fleshing out and perfecting the "Shanghai Five" mechanism and deepening cooperation among China, Tajikistan, Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in security, trade and other international arenas.
Jiang made the call at an annual summit meeting of the heads of state of the five nations Wednesday. The annual event, commonly known as the "Shanghai Five" summit, was started in Shanghai, China, in April 1996, when the top leaders of the five countries held their first summit to exchange views on bilateral and multilateral cooperation and other regional and international issues on common interest.
Also attending the Dushanbe summit are hosting Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, and Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev.
Uzbek President Islam Karimov is present at this year's summit for the first time as an observer.
In his speech at the summit, which was presided over by Tajik President Rakhmonov, Jiang Zemin put forward a four-point proposal for fleshing out and perfecting the "Shanghai Five" mechanism, deepening the five-nation cooperation in national and regional security and stability, expanding bilateral and multilateral economic and trade cooperation, and strengthening coordination among the five nations in the international arenas.
He said that with the annual summit of the heads of state of the five countries as the center-piece and a driving force, meetings of the relevant government departments of the five countries should be promoted so as to push forward specific cooperation projects among them in every possible field, thus help shaping a multi-level, multi-area consulting mechanism within the "Shanghai Five" framework, and in due course, help developing the present five-nation meeting mechanism into a five-nation cooperation mechanism.
On upgrading the five-nation cooperation on national and regional security, Jiang called for joint actions of the five countries to crack down on all forms of extremist forces, separatist forces and terrorist forces in the region.
"We cannot overlook the disrupting and sabotaging factors coming from within and outside of the five-nation region that are threatening peace and stability of the region," Jiang said against the background that all the five countries want an environment of long-term peace and stability to concentrate on national economic buildup in the face of the world trend of economic globalization.
The Chinese president also urged the five countries to create necessary conditions, bring into full play their respective advantages, expand mutual investment, and explore different ways of economic and technological cooperation, so as to push forward their overall bilateral and multilateral economic and trade cooperation.
In this regard, he welcomed the other four nations to actively participate in China's national undertaking of developing the western part of the country.
In the field of international affairs, Jiang stressed the importance of strengthened cooperation among the five countries in maintaining the authority of the United Nations, particularly that of the UN Security Council, and in upholding such principles in international relations as respecting national sovereignty, and non-interference in other country's internal affairs.
He suggested that the five nations strengthen their coordination of positions in opposing hegemony and power politics in world affairs, and in the joint efforts to promote the multi-polarization process of the world politics.
Describing the "Shanghai Five" mechanism as "a historic outcome" of today's world development in the conclusion of his speech, Jiang called on statesmen and politicians of the five nations to demonstrate their sense of responsibility and sense of mission to work for the world's multi-polarization process, for the establishment of a just and rational new order in the world politics and economic development, and for peace and stability of the world.
In This Section
|