Library:The governance of China/Chapter 12: New Model of Major-country Relations

Chapter 12: New Model of Major-country Relations, Xi Jinping: The Governance of China, Volume I.

Follow the Trend of the Times and Promote Global Peace and Development

March 23, 2013
Speech at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Moscow, Russia.

Distinguished Mr Anatoly Vasilyevich Torkunov, Rector of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations,
The Honorable Olga Golodets, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation,
Dear faculty members and students,

I am very pleased to come to the beautiful Moscow State Institute of International Relations today and meet so many faculty members and students here.

The Moscow State Institute of International Relations is a prestigious school of world renown, boasting an outstanding faculty and distinguished alumni. I wish to express my warm congratulations on the remarkable successes you have achieved in various fields.

Russia is a friendly neighbor to China. My current visit to Russia is the first leg of my first overseas trip since becoming China's president. It is also my second visit to your beautiful and richly endowed country in three years. Yesterday, I had fruitful talks with President Putin, and together we attended the launch of the Tourism Year of China in Russia.

The month of March marks the return of spring, a season of sowing and great renewal. As a popular Chinese saying goes, "he who hopes for a good year starts planning in spring." China and Russia, having taken advantage of this season to plough and hoe not only for our bilateral relations but also for peace and development in the world, will surely reap a bumper harvest to the benefit of our two peoples and those of other countries.

Dear faculty members and students,

The Institute of International Relations, as an institution of higher learning specialized in the study of international issues, pays close attention to the international landscape and can appreciate especially keenly the enormous changes the world has gone through over the past decades. Indeed, we live in a time of kaleidoscopic changes that make the world constantly different.

It is a world where peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit have become the trend of the times. The old colonial system has long since disintegrated, and confrontations between blocs as during the Cold War have long gone. No country or group of countries can dominate world affairs single-handedly.

It is a world where emerging markets and developing countries in large numbers have embarked on the track of fast development. Billions of people are moving towards modernization at an accelerating pace. Multiple growth engines have emerged in regions across the world. And the international balance of power continues to evolve in a direction favorable for peace and development.

It is a world where countries are linked with and dependent on one another at a level never seen before. Mankind, by living in the same global village in the same era where history and reality meet, has increasingly emerged as a community of shared future in which everyone has in himself a little bit of others.

And it is a world where mankind is beset with numerous difficulties and challenges. They range from the continued underlying impact of the international financial crisis, an apparent upsurge of all kinds of protectionism, incessant regional flashpoints, rising hegemonism, power politics and neo-interventionism, to a web of conventional and non-conventional security threats, such as the arms race, terrorism and cyber security. Upholding world peace and promoting common development remain a long and uphill battle.

We hope that the world will become a better place. We have every reason to believe that it will. At the same time, we are soberly aware that while the future is bright, the path leading to it can be tortuous. Chernyshevsky once wrote, "The path of history is not paved like Nevsky Prospekt; it runs across fields, either dusty or muddy, and cuts across swamps or forest thickets." Yet as shown by humanity's progress, history always moves forward according to its own laws despite twists and turns, and no force can hold back its rolling wheels.

The tide of the world is surging forward. Those who submit to it will prosper and those who resist it will perish. Keeping up with the times, one cannot live in the 21st century while thinking in the old fashion, lingering in the age of colonial expansion or with the zero-sum mentality of the Cold War.

In the face of the profoundly changed international landscape and the objective need for the world to rally together like passengers in the same boat, all countries should join hands in building a new model of international relations featuring cooperation and mutual benefit, and all peoples should work together to safeguard world peace and promote common development.

We stand for the sharing of dignity by all countries and peoples in the world. All countries, irrespective of size, strength and wealth, are equal. The right of the people to independently choose their development paths should be respected, interference in the internal affairs of other countries opposed, and international fairness and justice maintained. Only the wearer of the shoes knows if they fit or not. Only the people can best tell if the development path they have chosen for their country suits or not.

We stand for the sharing of the fruits of development by all countries and peoples. Every country, while pursuing its own development, should actively facilitate the common development of all countries. There cannot be sustainable development in the world when some countries are getting richer and richer while others languish in prolonged poverty and backwardness. Only when all countries achieve common development can there be better worldwide development. Such practices as beggar-my-neighbor, shifting crises onto others and feathering one's nest at the expense of others are both immoral and unsustainable.

We stand for the sharing of security by all countries and peoples. Countries should make concerted efforts to properly address the issues and challenges they face. As challenges often take on global dimensions, there is all the more need for countries to take them on cooperatively, turning pressure into motivation and crises into opportunities. Confronted with complex threats to international security, fighting alone or fighting with a blind faith in the use of force will not get one anywhere. The only solution lies in cooperative, collective and common security.

As the trends of world multipolarity and economic globalization grow and those of upholding cultural diversity and applying information technology in social life continue to make progress, mankind has never been better blessed with opportunities for taking strides towards peace and development. And mutually beneficial cooperation provides the only practical way to achieving such a goal.

The destiny of the world must be left in the hands of the peoples of all countries. Matters that fall within the sovereign rights of a country should be managed only by the government and people of that country. And affairs of the world should be addressed by the governments and peoples of all countries through consultation. Herein lies the democratic principle for the handling of international affairs which should be universally observed.

Dear faculty members and students,

Last November, the CPC held its 18th National Congress. According to the blueprint it mapped out for the country's development in the near future, China will double its 2010 GDP and per capita income for both urban and rural residents by 2020, complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects when the Party celebrates its centenary in 2021, and turn itself into a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious when the PRC marks its centenary in 2049. At the same time, we are soberly aware that, as a large developing country with over 1.3 billion people, China will encounter still greater and more testing challenges on the road to progress, which calls for continuous and strenuous efforts on our part if the goals as identified are to be reached.

The great renewal of the Chinese nation has become the grandest dream of the Chinese people in modern times. We call it the Chinese Dream, with prosperity for the country, renewal for the nation and happiness for the people as its fundamental elements. China has always been a peace-loving nation. But it was subjected to a century of untold sufferings as a result of repeated foreign aggression and domestic turmoil. We know too well the value of peace, and the need to build the country and improve the people's well-being in a peaceful environment. China is committed to the path of peaceful development, dedicating itself to open, cooperative and mutually beneficial development, while calling on all countries to follow this path. China always pursues a defense policy that is defensive in nature, not engaging in any arms race nor posing a military threat to any country. By growing stronger through development, China will bring more opportunities, rather than threats, to the rest of the world. The Chinese Dream which we cherish will not only serve the Chinese people but benefit people throughout the world.

It is heartening to see that, each as the other's largest neighbor, China and Russia enjoy a high complementarity in development strategy. Russia has set the goal of reaching or approaching the level of the developed countries by 2020 in terms of per capita GDP and is accelerating its advance in material development. We sincerely wish you success in achieving your goals as soon as possible. A strong and prosperous Russia is in the interests of China, and conducive to peace and stability in the Asia Pacific and the world at large.

The relationship between China and Russia is one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world. It is also the best relationship between major countries. A strong and high-performance relationship like this not only serves the interests of our two countries but also provides an important safeguard for maintaining the international strategic balance as well as peace and stability in the world. With our consistent efforts over the past 20 years and more, we have established a comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination, and a relationship that fully accommodates each other's interests and concerns, and delivers tangible benefits to the two peoples. We have resolved historical boundary issues once and for all and signed the Treaty of Good-neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation Between the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation, thus laying a solid foundation for the long-term growth of China-Russia relations.

At present, both China and Russia are at a crucial stage of national renewal, as their relations have entered a new period characterized by provision of vital mutual development opportunities and serving as primary mutual cooperation partners. To ensure continued growth of China-Russia relations, we need to work still harder in the following areas:

First, stay firmly committed to building a forward-looking relationship. That China and Russia should live in everlasting amity and never be enemies is the shared aspiration of the two peoples. We need to stand tall and look far, working on our bilateral relations with a holistic approach. President Putin once said, "Russia needs a prosperous and stable China, and China needs a strong and successful Russia." I could not agree more. By achieving common development, we will give ever broader space to our comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination and provide positive energy to the international order and global systems in their movement towards greater fairness and rationality. China and Russia will forever be good neighbors, good friends and good partners, taking concrete actions to firmly support each other on respective core interests, on respective development and renewal, on following the development paths suited to our national conditions and on success in our affairs and endeavors.

Second, stay firmly committed to cultivating a cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship. China and Russia differ in realities and national conditions. By engaging in close cooperation and drawing on each other's strengths to make up for respective shortcomings, we can show to the world that one plus one can be greater than two. Last year, our two-way trade reached US$ 88.2 billion-worth and there were 3.3 million visits exchanged between our peoples. These figures give full expression to the enormous potential and broad prospects of China-Russia relations. Bilateral cooperation in energy has advanced steadily. The China-Russia oil and gas pipelines have long since replaced the "Ten Thousand Li Tea Route" of the 17th century as the new "arteries of the century" connecting the two countries. Right now, we are looking actively to bridge the development strategies of our respective countries and regions in an effort to create still more converging interests and growth areas in bilateral cooperation. We will expand the scope of bilateral cooperation from the energy and resources sector to investment, infrastructure, hi-tech, finance and other areas, and from trade in goods to joint R&D and joint production so as to elevate the result-oriented cooperation between the two countries.

Third, stay firmly committed to cementing the friendship between the two peoples. Amity between peoples holds the key to relations between countries. It is the people's deep friendship that drives state-to-state relations forward. Here, I want to share a couple of stories about the mutual support and mutual help between our peoples. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Captain Gregory Kurishenko of the air force of the Soviet Union came to China and fought side by side with the Chinese people. He once said, "I feel the Chinese people's sufferings as if I were feeling the sufferings of my own motherland." He died heroically on Chinese soil. The Chinese people never forget this hero. An ordinary Chinese mother and her son have kept vigil at his tomb for more than half a century. In 2004, China invited some of the children traumatized in the Beslan school hostage incident to China for rehabilitation treatment. The children received meticulous care. The head doctor from the Russian side said to the Chinese side, "Your doctors have given our children such great help, and they will always remember you." When Wenchuan was hit by a devastating earthquake in 2008Russia raced against time to extend a helping hand, and invited the children from disaster areas to Russia's Far East for rehabilitation. Three years ago, I saw with my own eyes at the Ocean Children's Center in Vladivostok the loving care Russian teachers showered on our children. As we Chinese often say, love knows no borders. These Chinese children have learned for themselves the love, friendship and kindness of the Russian people. There are many more touching stories like these, and together they keep the tree of our friendship nourished, strong and evergreen.

Russia and China each has a time-honored history and splendid culture, and cultural exchanges between us play an irreplaceable role in advancing the friendship between the two peoples. Ancient Chinese philosophers such as Confucius and Lao Zi are well known in Russia while Russian culture left a deep mark on the older generations of Chinese revolutionaries. Even people of my age have read many Russian classic masterpieces. In my youth, I read the works of such Russian literary giants as Pushkin, Lermontov, Turgenev, Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy and Chekhov, and savored the powerful charm of Russian literature. It is no wonder that cultural exchanges between China and Russia enjoy fertile ground.

The youth are the future of a country and the future of the world. They also hold in their hands the future of China-Russia friendship. During this visit of mine, President Putin and I jointly announced that China and Russia would host the Year of Youth Friendship and Exchanges in 2014 and 2015, respectively. On the Chinese side, we will invite a delegation of Russian university students, including students of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, to China. I see in you some of the best and brightest of the young generation in Russia. I hope that more and more young people from both countries will take over the baton of China-Russia friendship by actively involving themselves in the cause of friendship.

Dear faculty members and students,

As a Russian proverb goes, "Big ships sail far." We also have lines of an ancient poem which read, "Forging ahead like a gigantic ship breaking through strong winds and heavy waves, I'll set my towering sail to cross the sea which raves." I am convinced that with the joint efforts of the governments and peoples of our two countries, China-Russia relations will continue to press ahead, overcoming difficulties, bringing greater benefits to the two peoples, and making ever-greater contributions to global peace and development.

Thank you.

Build a New Model of Major-Country Relationship Between China and the United States

June 7, 2013
Main points of the speech when meeting the press with US President Barack Obama.

President Obama and I have just had our first meeting. We had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on our respective domestic and foreign policies, on building a new model of major-country relationship between China and the United States, and on major international and regional issues of mutual concern. We have reached a consensus on many important issues.

I told President Obama explicitly that China will unswervingly follow the path of peaceful development, further its reform and opening up, strive to realize the Chinese Dream of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and promote the noble cause of peace and development of mankind.

The Chinese Dream is about making our country prosperous and strong, revitalizing the nation and bringing a happy life to its people. It is a dream of peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit. It has many things in common with all the beautiful dreams, including the American Dream, of people all over the world.

President Obama and I both maintain that China and the US should and can build a new model of relationship different from the historical clashes and confrontations between major powers, given the rapid economic globalization and the need for all countries in the world to work together. We both agreed to make joint efforts to build a new model of major-country relationship, respect each other, cooperate and seek mutual interests, and bring benefits to our people and the people of the world at large. The world community also expects a continuously improved and expanded China-US relationship. Good China-US cooperation will serve as an anchor for global stability and a booster for world peace.

The two sides agreed to enhance dialogues and communication at all levels, and constantly increase mutual trust and understanding. President Obama and I will keep in close touch with each other through exchanges of visits, meetings, telephone conversations and letters. I have extended an invitation to President Obama to visit China at a suitable time for a new round of meetings and realize an exchange of visits as soon as possible. The two sides will act in close coordination to make sure that the new round of China-US strategic and economic dialogues, and high-level consultations on cultural and people-to-people exchanges will achieve positive results. The Chinese defense minister and foreign minister will visit the US on invitation.

The two sides also agreed to enhance cooperation in a wide range of areas such as economy, trade, energy, environment, and culture and humanities, as well as cooperation among different regions, so as to expand the converging interests between the two countries in an all-round way. We will improve and develop bilateral military relations, and build a new model of China-US military relationship. We will strengthen coordination concerning macro-economic policies, expand cooperation in the process of our economic development, and promote robust, sustainable and balanced economic growth in the Asia Pacific region and the world at large.

Where there is a will there is a way. I am confident about the new model of major-country relationship between China and the US. First, both sides have the political will to build such a relationship. Second, bilateral cooperation between the two countries over the past more than 40 years has laid a solid foundation for our future cooperation. Third, the two sides have established more than 90 mechanisms for high-level dialogues on strategy, economy, culture and humanities, which serve as guarantee mechanisms for the building of the new model of major-country relationship. Fourth, sister provinces and states, and sister cities totaling more than 220 pairs have been established between the two sides; nearly 190,000 Chinese students are studying in the US and more than 20,000 US students are studying in China – a good public opinion foundation for the building of the new model of relationship. Fifth, there is broad scope for future bilateral cooperation.

The building of a new model of major-country relationship between China and the US is unprecedented, but it will be faithfully carried out by the two sides. China and the US should work together to push forward the new model of major-country relationship by increasing dialogues, promoting mutual trust, expanding cooperation and controlling disputes.

Both the Chinese and American nations are great nations, and both peoples are great peoples. I believe that, with determination, confidence, patience and wisdom, the two sides will accomplish our goals as long as we keep the overall situation in mind while starting with the daily routine and making constant progress.

China has been a victim of computer hacker attacks. As a defender of cyber security, China has the same concerns as the US in this field. The two sides have decided through consultations to establish a cyber security working team within the framework of China-US strategic and security dialogues, and to start to work on the issue as soon as possible. The two sides should eschew mistrust and engage in cooperation so as to make cyber security a new bright spot in China-US cooperation.

Build a Bridge of Friendship and Cooperation Across the Eurasian Continent

April 1, 2014
Part of the speech at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium.

China and Europe may seem far apart geographically, but we are living in the same era and on the same earth. I feel that we are as close to each other as neighbors. Both China and Europe are in a crucial stage of development, and are facing unprecedented opportunities and challenges. I hope to work with our European friends to build a bridge of friendship and cooperation across the Eurasian continent. For that we actually need to build four bridges – for the peace, growth, reform and progress of civilization – so that the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership will take on even greater global significance.

– We need to build a bridge of peace and stability, linking the two strong forces of China and the EU. Together, China and the EU make up one tenth of the total area of the earth, and represent one fourth of the world's population. Together we hold three permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council. We all need peace, multilateralism and dialogue, instead of war, unilateralism and confrontation. We need to enhance communication and coordination on global issues, and play a key role in safeguarding world peace and stability. Culture can spread, and so can peaceful development. China stands ready to work with the EU to let the sunlight of peace drive away the shadow of war, and the bonfire of prosperity warm up the global economy in the cold early spring, and enable all mankind to embark on the path of peaceful development and mutually beneficial cooperation.

– We need to build a bridge of growth and prosperity linking the two big markets of China and Europe. China and the EU are the two most important economies in the world, accounting for one third of the global economy. We must uphold open markets, speed up negotiations on investment agreements, proactively explore the possibility of a free trade area, and strive to achieve the ambitious goal of bringing bilateral trade to US$1 trillion-worth by 2020. We should also look to combine China-EU cooperation with the initiative of developing the Silk Road Economic Belt, so as to integrate the markets of Asia and Europe, energize the people, businesses, capital and technologies of Asia and Europe, and make China and the EU the twin engines for global economic growth.

– We need to build a bridge of reform and progress, linking the reform process in China and the EU. Both China and the EU are pursuing reforms that are unprecedented in human history, and both are sailing uncharted waters. We should enhance dialogue and cooperation on macro economy, public policy, regional development, rural development, social welfare and other fields. We need to respect each other's paths of reform, draw upon each other's reform experience, and promote world development and progress through our reform efforts.

– We need to build a bridge of common cultural prosperity linking the two major civilizations of China and Europe. China represents in an important way Eastern civilization, while Europe is the birthplace of Western civilization. The Chinese people are fond of tea, and Belgians love beer. To me, the moderate tea drinker and passionate beer lover represent two ways of understanding life and knowing the world, and I find them equally rewarding. When good friends get together, they may want to drink to their hearts' content to show their friendship. They may also choose to sit down quietly and drink tea while chatting about their lives. In China we value our ideal of "harmony without uniformity." And here in the EU people stress the need to be "united in diversity." Let us work together for all flowers of human civilization to blossom together.

In the face of all changes in the international landscape, China has always supported European integration and a bigger role in international affairs for a united, stable and prosperous EU. China will soon release its second EU policy paper to reiterate the great importance it places on the EU and on its relations with the EU. Last year, China and the EU jointly formulated the Strategic Agenda 2020 for China-EU Cooperation, setting out a host of ambitious goals in nearly a hundred fields. The two sides should work in concert to turn the blueprint into reality at an early date, and strive for greater progress in China-EU relations in the coming decade.