Foreign and Military Affairs
Embrace New Opportunities for China-ASEAN Cooperation
(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-02-04 18:11
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Address by H. E. Dai Bingguo, State Councilor of the People's Republic of China, At ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta on Jan 22, 2010.
Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan,
Excellencies,
Dear Friends,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Ten years ago, when the 21st century just began, I visited Indonesia as Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China. Today, I am privileged to be back in this nation of thousand islands. It gives me great pleasure to set foot on the land where the well-known Bandung Conference was held and the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence established. It warms my heart to be in a country where my father-in-law worked and lived a few decades ago. I wish to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to the Indonesian government and the ASEAN Secretariat for the warm reception and thoughtful arrangements and extend warm greetings to the friendly people of the host country and people of all ASEAN countries.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We are now at the end of the first decade of the 21st century. In my view, it has been an extraordinary decade for Indonesia and ASEAN, for Asia and the world, and for China and China-ASEAN relations.
These ten years have seen the hard work of Indonesia and the success of this nation. Indonesia has maintained social stability and national unity, achieved steady economic growth in spite of the international financial crisis and made invaluable contribution to peace, stability and development of the region. In the wake of the unprecedented Indian Ocean tsunami, the Indonesian people, united as one, moved quickly to rebuild the affected areas. Today, a more stable, prosperous and confident Indonesia commands greater influence and has higher standing in Asia and beyond. A worthy member of the G20, Indonesia is playing a greater role in regional and international affairs.
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These ten years have seen dynamic development in Asia and continuous rise in its international standing. In a rapidly changing world, Asia has enjoyed strong economic growth, greater political stability as a whole and thriving regional cooperation. This has notably elevated Asia's international standing and attracted more attention from the rest of the world. The past year is a case in point: most countries that stood firm in the financial storm were to be found in Asia. The whole world is talking about the "rise of Asia". The world's major powers are turning their eyes to Asia in the hope of benefiting from its robust growth, as Asia is moving forward faster. We Asians should feel proud.
These ten years have seen major changes and tremendous development and progress throughout the world along with disasters and miseries. We experienced the September 11 incident, the once-in-a-century financial crisis, and an increasing number of global challenges such as climate change, terrorism, energy and resources scarcity and public health security. The world has become smaller. Countries have become more interdependent. We need, more than ever before, to help each other and overcome the difficulties of our times together. We are all in a big ship sailing through a violent storm. None of us can stand alone and survive. In time of crisis, the zero-sum mentality, prevalent during the Cold War period, only harms us all, for it puts one's interest, prosperity and security against that of others. What we need is a new approach of working for harmonious coexistence, sharing interests and responsibilities and seeking mutual benefit. Let us cooperate to build our home on this planet.
What changes have happened in China in these ten years?
China has come a long way in reform and opening-up. Its economy has grown, people's lives improved, and the landscape of the country changed enormously. China's ties, interactions, exchanges and cooperation with the rest of the world have increased notably in breadth and depth. But let me underscore that we are still a developing country. What you have seen in Beijing or Shanghai cannot represent the whole country. China's per capita GDP ranks only the 104th in the world. China has a big population and weak economic foundation. Its development is uneven between urban and rural areas and among regions. It has an unsound industrial structure. And its productivity is not yet developed. These challenges still remain. In our economic and social development, we face many thorny problems seldom seen anywhere else in the world. None of them is easy to solve in a country with 1.3 billion people. Some people are lavishing praises on China and describing my country as a developed one, even equal to the United States. My friends, please do not buy what they say. This is nothing but a myth!
We are well aware that it would take several generations' hard work or even longer before we can achieve modernization. We still need to deepen reform, further open up, and learn from and assimilate, in a modest manner, all the fine achievements of other countries, including those of ASEAN countries. We also need to develop long-term mutually-beneficial cooperation with ASEAN and other countries.
Some friends may say, yes you are a developing country, but you are so big, your economy is so large and grows so fast. That is somewhat fearful. Indeed, China is a big country, and with rapid economic growth. When people associate it with the behavior of some big countries in history, it is natural that they may feel a bit worried. But I want to assure you that China is not to be feared. It is a reliable neighbor and friend for you.
Let's look at China's history. Does China have the tradition and culture of aggression and expansion? I have noted many people across the world say "no". China did not seek expansion or hegemony even at the time when it was the most powerful country in the world with 30% of the global GDP a few hundred years ago. Many of you know about Zheng He's voyages to the Western Seas. Leading the most powerful fleet in the world, Zheng He made seven voyages to the Western Seas, bringing there porcelain, silk and tea, rather than bloodshed, plundering or colonialism. They also brought those countries tranquility and wellbeing by helping them fight pirates. To this day, Zheng He is still remembered as an envoy of friendship and peace, and his merits are widely recognized by people of Southeast Asia, including Indonesia.
Let's look at China's reality. China is getting more integrated into the international community. As China develops, it will be more closely linked with the world. It will need closer international cooperation and a peaceful and stable international environment. China's future and destiny has become ever more closely linked with that of the rest of the world. Mutual benefit and common development – this is the most important experience we have gained from our diplomacy over the past 30 years and more since reform and opening-up. It is also the key to our success, which we will always hold firm and never abandon.
Now let's look at China's fundamental policies. Not seeking hegemony is our basic national policy and strategic choice. China wants friendship, not hegemony. It always pursues a good-neighborly and friendly policy towards its neighbors. China stands for equality among all countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor and respects the rights of their people to independently choosing their development paths. We will adhere to mutually-beneficial cooperation and common progress. China's long-term stability, development and prosperity have been proven to be an opportunity for its neighbors, not a challenge, even less a disaster. On the contrary, an unstable and underdeveloped China with 1.3 billion people would become a burden or even bring calamity to its neighbors.
As China does not seek hegemony for itself, nor will it compete for hegemony or seek joint hegemony in this region with other countries. As you know, what we pursue is an independent foreign policy of peace. We do not enter into alliance with any other countries. We are of the view that international issues should be handled by all of us instead of being dominated by one or two countries or a group of countries. The United States is an important partner for East Asian countries as well as for China. We value our relationship with the United States and we have neither the intention nor the ability to push it out. We are willing to see the United States play a constructive role in promoting stability and development in Asia.
In short, we want to be a good friend, good neighbor and good partner of ASEAN and Asian countries for ever. Our intention is transparent and based on good will. If some people still do not quite believe our intention and want to wait and see what China really wants, they may do so. But just keep in mind that if they wait for too long, they may very well miss the opportunity of cooperation with China, which would be totally unworthy.
