Nations should be firm in opposing all forms of power politics, hegemony, he says at gathering
President Xi Jinping addresses a conference on Monday in Beijing marking the 50th anniversary of the restoration of the People's Republic of China's lawful seat in the United Nations. (LI XIANG / XINHUA)
President Xi Jinping reaffirmed on Monday China's commitment to following a path of peaceful development, reform and opening-up and multilateralism, while calling upon nations to jointly work toward the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
Speaking at a conference in Beijing marking the 50th anniversary of the restoration of the People's Republic of China's lawful seat in the United Nations, Xi expounded on Beijing's position in upholding the authority and standing of the UN and practicing "true multilateralism".
"We shall be firm in opposing all forms of hegemony and power politics, as well as all forms of unilateralism and protectionism," he told an audience of more than 200 people, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who attended via video link, ambassadors to China and Chinese diplomats who have worked in the global body.
In 1971, the UN General Assembly adopted, by an overwhelming majority, a resolution to restore all rights of the People's Republic of China in the UN.
The president hailed the move as a momentous event for the world and the UN, saying that its importance was significant and far-reaching for both China and the world.
The past 50 years have witnessed China's peaceful development and its commitment and dedication to the welfare of all humanity, he said.
China, which rose to become the world's second-largest economy from a state of low productivity, has always been a strong supporter of other developing countries in their just struggle to safeguard sovereignty, security and development interests, he said.
China has sent over 50,000 peacekeepers to UN peacekeeping operations, and is now the second-largest financial contributor to both the UN and UN peacekeeping operations.
With the world facing changes unseen in a century, the president stressed the importance of following the prevailing trend of history, and choosing cooperation over confrontation, openness over seclusion, and mutual benefit over zero-sum games.
"We should vigorously advocate peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom, which are the common values of humanity," he said, adding that no civilization in the world is superior to others and every civilization is special and unique to its own region.
Xi listed a number of standards on whether a country's path of development works, which he said must be judged, first and foremost, by whether it fits the country's conditions, whether the path of development can bring about economic growth, social advancement, better livelihoods and social stability, and whether it has the people's endorsement and support.
He further elaborated on the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind.
The vision is not to replace one system or civilization with another, he said. "Instead, it is about countries with different social systems, ideologies, histories, cultures and levels of development coming together for shared interests, shared rights and shared responsibilities in global affairs, and creating the greatest synergy for building a better world," he added.
In upholding the authority of the UN, Xi said international rules can only be made by the 193 UN member states together, instead of being decided by individual countries or blocs of countries, and the rules must be observed by all member states without exception.
Siddharth Chatterjee, the UN resident coordinator in China, said the speech delivered by Xi was compelling and profound.
"President Xi has reconfirmed the primacy of multilateralism, human development and humanity. We are fully committed and aligned with his vision, not only for China but for the partnerships China and the rest of world can have," he said.
Selim Belortaja, the Albanian ambassador to China, said Albania remains proud of its step to help China restore its lawful place in the UN even today, and the role China has played over the past decades fully justified the resolution 50 years ago.
He also lauded Xi's strong appeal for multilateralism in his speech, as "global challenges require a coordinated and concerted response globally".
