Ladies and Gentlemen,

Friends,

Today's world is going through profound and intricate changes. Peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit have become an unstoppable trend. Countries are bound together in this community of common destiny. On the other hand, injustice and inequality are still pronounced problems in international relations. Global challenges keep emerging, so do conflicts and local wars in various regions. People in many countries, children in particular, are ravaged by war. Many people in developing countries still suffer from hunger. To uphold global peace and promote common development remains a daunting challenge facing mankind.

In the new era today, the spirit of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, instead of being outdated, remains as relevant as ever; its significance, rather than diminishing, remains as important as ever; and its role, rather than being weakened, has continued to grow.

As an ancient Chinese teaching goes, all good principles should adapt to changing times to remain relevant. Just now, both President U Thein Sein and Vice President Hamid Ansari have elaborated on how to carry forward the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence to build a new type of international relations and a better world in the new era. Indeed, China, India and Myanmar have a lot in common in this regard. Here, I wish to state the following:

First, we should uphold sovereign equality. Sovereignty is the most important feature of any independent state as well as the embodiment and safeguard of its national interests. No infringement upon the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a country is allowed. Countries should respect each other's core interests and key concerns. These are fundamental rules which should not be cast aside or undermined at any time.

All countries, regardless of their size, strength or level of development, are equal members of the international community, and they are entitled to equal participation in international affairs. The internal affairs of a country should be managed by its own people. We should respect the right of a country to choose its own social system and model of development, and oppose the attempt to oust the legitimate government of a country through illegal means to seek self interests or to impose one's own views.

Second, we should uphold common security. Security should be universal. All countries have the right to participate in international and regional security affairs on an equal footing and shoulder the shared responsibility to maintain security both internationally and in various regions. We should champion common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security, and respect and ensure every country's security. It is unacceptable to have security just for one country or some countries while leaving the rest insecure, and still less should one be allowed to seek the so-called "absolute security" of itself at the expense of others' security. We need to step up cooperation at the global and regional level and jointly counter non-traditional security threats which are on the increase, fight against terrorism of all forms and remove the breeding ground of terrorism.

Disputes and differences between countries should be resolved through dialogue, consultation and peaceful means. We should increase mutual trust, and settle disputes and promote security through dialogue. Willful threat or use of force should be rejected. Flexing military muscles only reveals the lack of moral ground or vision rather than reflecting one's strength. Security can be solid and enduring only if it is based on moral high ground and vision. We should work for a new architecture of Asia-Pacific security cooperation that is open, transparent and equality-based, and bring all countries together in a common endeavor to maintain peace and security in both our region and the world.

Third, we should advance common development. The sky, earth and world are big enough to allow the common development and prosperity of all countries. Today, some countries are getting richer while others are locked in poverty and underdevelopment. Such a situation should not be allowed to continue. Just as rising water lifts all boats and more water in the tributaries make a wider river, all will benefit when everyone develops. When developing themselves, countries should work actively for common development of others so that the gains of development will reach more people in the world.

We should jointly uphold and develop an open global economy, promote strong, sustainable and balanced global growth as well as trade and investment liberalization and facilitation and uphold open regional cooperation. We should oppose protectionism of all forms and any attempt or practice to hurt others' interests or shift crisis to others.

We should enhance South-South cooperation and North-South dialogue, strengthen developing countries' capacity for self-development, urge developed countries to shoulder more responsibilities, and narrow the North-South gap. This will help build a more equal and more balanced new global partnership for development and cement the foundation for achieving long-term and stable global growth.

Fourth, we should promote win-win cooperation. "Cooperation generates strength while isolation only leads to weakness." Win-win cooperation should be the basic policy goal of all countries in handling international affairs. It is a universal principle that applies to not only the economic field, but political, security, cultural and other areas as well.

Countries should align their own interests with those of other countries and expand areas of converging interests. Instead of undercutting each other's efforts, countries should reinforce each other's endeavor and make greater common progress. We should champion a new vision of win-win outcomes for all and reject the obsolete notion of zero-sum game or winner taking all. Countries should respect others' interests while pursuing their own and advance common interests of all.

We should help each other out in times of difficulty and assume both rights and responsibilities. We should work together to address growing global issues such as climate change, energy and resources security, cyber security and major natural disasters, in a common endeavor to protect our planet which is so crucial to our survival.

Fifth, we should champion inclusiveness and mutual learning. Diversity of civilizations is a defining feature of the human society. In today's world, there are 7 billion people of more than 2,500 ethnic groups who live in over 200 countries and regions and speak more than 5,000 languages. Different nations and civilizations are rich in diversity and have their own distinct features. No one is superior or inferior to others.

"All living things are nourished without injuring one another, and all roads run parallel without interfering with one another." We should respect diversity of civilizations and promote exchanges, dialogue, peaceful and harmonious coexistence among different civilizations and should not seek supremacy or denigrate other civilizations and nations. Human history tells us that any attempt to establish a dominant civilization in the world is an illusion.

Everything has its strengths and weaknesses. We should promote mutual learning and draw on all that is good created by different countries, nations and civilizations in a joint effort to create a splendid human civilization.

Sixth, we should uphold fairness and justice. According to the ancient Chinese philosophy, "A just cause should be pursued for the common good". Justice is the noble goal that people of all countries pursue in international relations. However, we are still far away from realizing this goal.

We should jointly promote greater democracy in international relations. The destiny of the world must be determined by people of all countries, and world affairs should be managed through consultation by governments and peoples of all countries. The notion of dominating international affairs belongs to a different age, and such an attempt is doomed to failure.

We should jointly promote the rule of law in international relations. We should urge all parties to abide by international law and well-recognized basic principles governing international relations and use widely applicable rules to tell right from wrong and pursue peace and development. The ancient Chinese believed that "law is the yardstick for measuring all things under the heaven". In the international society, there should be just one law that applies to all. There is no such law that applies to others but not oneself, or vice versa. There should not be double standards when applying the law. We should jointly uphold the authority and sanctity of international law and the international order. All countries should exercise their rights in accordance with the law, oppose bending international law, and reject any attempt to undermine, in the name of "rule of law", other countries' legitimate rights and interests as well as peace and stability.

We should jointly promote more balanced international relations, advance reform in global governance in keeping with new changes in the relative strengths of international forces, respond to concerns and aspirations of various parties, and better uphold the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries.