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Jiang Makes Speech On World Peace, Development
Chinese President Jiang Zemin on Wednesday delivered a speech on world peace and development at the Millennium Summit of the United Stations, which opened earlier in the day.
Jiang first appreciated the splendid material and spiritual accomplishments mankind has scored in the outgoing millennium and the 20th century.
As the nearly 50-year-old Cold War has ended, Jiang said, the pursuit of peace and development becomes both the common aspirations of the people throughout the world and the theme of our times.
Referring to the unfair and irrational old world political and economic order, he said there is still a long way to go before the two strategic issues of peace and development are solved and a fair and equitable new international political and economic order is established.
"At present, the people in many countries are still suffering from the scourge of wars and turmoil. Hegemonism and power politics still exist. Local conflicts caused by ethnic, religious, territorial or resources factors keep cropping up. Separatist, terrorist and extremist forces of various kinds are causing incessant damages to the international community. Environment, drugs, refugees and other global issues are more acutely felt," Jiang added.
The president stressed that history and the realities have showed: first, respect for each other's independence and sovereignty is vital to the maintenance of world peace; second, building common security is the prerequisite to the prevention of conflicts and wars; third, promoting a multipolar international configuration is required by the progress of our times, conforms to the interests of the people of all countries and also contributes to world peace and security.
On relations between world peace and development, Jiang said the maintenance of world peace is the necessary precondition for the promotion of common development, which in turn serves as an important guarantee for the maintenance of world peace.
The president also voiced great concerns about the widening gap between the North and the South and the gulf between the rich and the poor.
Imbalance in world development is becoming more acute. Over 1.3 billion people in the world live under the absolute poverty line, with less than one U.S. dollar of living expenses per capita per day. The developed countries possess 86 percent of the world's GDP and occupy 82 percent of the world's export markets, while the developing countries which account for the overwhelming majority of the world population possess only 14 and 18 percent respectively, Jiang said.
Jiang stressed that the right of the people of all countries to choose their social system and development path independently must be fully respected. North-South dialogue should be enhanced on the basis of equality and South-South cooperation conducted extensively.
He also called on developing countries to foster and strengthen their capacity of self-development, and urged the creation of a good external environment for the development of the vast number of developing countries. All countries should remove trade protectionism of all forms, and mutually open market. Effective measures should be taken to reduce or exempt the debts of developing countries and to increase official aid to them without any conditions attached, Jiang added.
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