China Calls for New Int'l Economic Order

SINGAPORE, July 27 (Xinhua) -- China Tuesday called for the establishment of a new international economic and financial order and respect for the right of all countries to choose their roads of development and economic models in efforts to achieve common prosperity.

In a speech to a dialogue meeting between ASEAN and its dialogue partners in Singapore, Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan said uncertainties and volatility in the world economy remain and the international economic relations are far from being free of unfairness and irrationality.

The trade protectionism practiced by the developed countries is on the increase and the amount of their official development aid continues to decline, Tang told the opening of the two-day ASEAN Post Ministerial Conference (PMC).

Harsh conditions are attached to aid and technology transfer to developing countries and plans for international financial reform have failed to fully reflect the interest of the developing countries, he said, adding that the gap between the South and the North is still widening.

The Asian financial crisis, he noted, has shown that the global economy is closely interconnected and the different economies of the world "rise or fall with one another."

Without the development of the vast number of developing countries, the economic growth of the developed ones cannot last long, he said.

World peace depends upon the establishment of a new international economic order, he stressed.
Tang expounded on China's positions on efforts to realize the goal of common prosperity.

-- It is important to respect the sovereignty of all countries over the right to choose their roads of development and economic models, respect and support developing countries in formulating and implementing development strategies and policies suited to their realities according to their specific national conditions and the order of priority.

-- It is important to establish a new equitable and reasonable international economic and financial order.
As developing countries have been integrated into the process of economic globalization under unequal conditions, they are therefore weak in terms of international competitiveness and vulnerable in terms of the capability of withstanding risks, he said.

New rules in international economic, trade, financial and other fields must reflect in an equitable manner the interest of developing countries, fully guarantee their rights and interests, and embody the principles for exchange and cooperation featuring mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, consensus and incrementalism, he said.

-- It is important to strengthen the mutually beneficial cooperation in the economic field and trade, and science and technology in particular.

It is crucial to and serves as an impetus to global economic development in the 21st century to optimize the economic structure and accelerate scientific and technological progress, and therefore cooperation between developing and developed countries should be focused on science and technology, Tang said.

It is imperative for the developed countries to increase investment and strengthen technology transfer to developing countries, and provide them with practicable assistance in financial monitoring and regulation as well as monetary cooperation, with a view to enhancing the capability of all countries in meeting challenges brought by globalization, he said.

-- It is important to promote regional economic cooperation for common development.
Regional economic cooperation facilitates effective allocation of resources in a larger area, helps the expansion of investment and trade, and accelerates the process of drawing on each other's strong points in economic development, he said.

China supports ASEAN in its efforts for regional economic integration, attaches importance to and takes an active part in Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and Asia-Euro Meeting (ASEM) economic and technical cooperation, and has made unremitting efforts for Mekong Basin Development Cooperation and other subregional cooperation, he said.

"We have gained, through this conference, a new understanding of ASEAN's progress in promoting Vision 2020.
We are pleased to see the achievements ASEAN has made and stand ready to strengthen cooperation with it so as to make greater contribution to deepening regional cooperation in various fields," Tang said.

The Vision 2020 is a long-term and broad blueprint for the region, adopted by ASEAN leaders in 1997.

ASEAN's foreign ministers and their counterparts from the regional grouping's dialogue partners began a two-day dialogue meeting Tuesday in Singapore after attending the ASEAN Regional Forum Monday.