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Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a keynote speech at the United Nations Office in Geneva, Switzerland, Jan. 18, 2017. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)
GENEVA, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said here Wednesday that China remains unchanged in its commitment to upholding world peace.
He made the remarks while delivering an address at the UN Office at Geneva.
"For several millennia, peace has been in the blood of us Chinese and a part of our DNA," said Xi.
"Do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you," he quoted from Confucius, a great ancient Chinese sage.
He noted that China has grown from a poor and weak country to the world's second largest economy not by committing military expansion or colonial plunder, but through the hard work of its people and their efforts to uphold peace.
"China will never waver in its pursuit of peaceful development. No matter how strong its economy grows, China will never seek hegemony, expansion or sphere of influence. History has borne this out and will continue to do so," he vowed.
The Chinese leader also pledged that China will remain unchanged in its commitment to pursue common development.
"China's development has been possible because of the world, and China has contributed to the world's development. We will continue to pursue a win-win strategy of opening-up, share our development opportunities with other countries and welcome them aboard the fast train of China's development," said Xi.
According to Xi, China has provided foreign countries with over 400 billion yuan (about 58.4 billion U.S. dollars) of aid between 1950 and 2016, while since the outbreak of the international financial crisis, China has contributed to over 30 percent of global growth each year on average.
He went on by saying that in the coming five years, China will import eight trillion dollars of goods, attract 600 billion dollars of foreign investment, make 750 billion dollars of outbound investment, adding that Chinese tourists will make 700 million outbound visits.
"China remains unchanged in its commitment to foster partnerships," he said in the speech.
He also said that China pursues an independent foreign policy of peace, and is ready to enhance friendship and cooperation with all other countries on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.
China has formed partnerships of various forms with over 90 countries and regional organizations, and will build a circle of friends across the world, he said.
The Chinese president said China will strive to build a new model of major country relations with the United States, a comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination with Russia, partnership for peace, growth, reform and among different civilizations with Europe, and a partnership of unity and cooperation with BRICS countries.
China is also going to remain unchanged in its commitment to multilateralism, said the president.
He hailed multilateralism as an effective way to preserve peace and promote development, saying that for decades, the UN and other international bodies have made a universally recognized contribution to maintaining global peace and sustaining development.
China will firmly uphold the international system with the UN as its core, the basic norms governing international relations embodied in the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, the authority and stature of the UN, and its core role in international affairs, he added.
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Work Together to Build a Community of Shared Future for Mankind
Speech by H.E. Xi Jinping
President of the People’s Republic of China
At the United Nations Office at Geneva
Geneva, 18 January 2017
Your Excellency Mr. Peter Thomson, President of the 71st Session of the UN General Assembly,
Your Excellency Mr. António Guterres, UN Secretary-General,
Your Excellency Mr. Michael Møller, Director-General of the UN Office at Geneva,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Friends,
As a new year begins, everything takes on a new look, and it gives me great pleasure to visit the United Nations Office at Geneva and discuss with you the building of a community of shared future for mankind, which is the call of our time.
I just attended the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. In Davos, many speakers pointed out in their speeches that today’s world is full of uncertainties and that people long for a bright future but are bewildered about what will come. What has happened to the world and how should we respond? The whole world is reflecting on this question, and it is also very much on my mind. Full text
Backgrounder: 10 key quotes from Xi's speech at UN Office at Geneva
GENEVA, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech here on Wednesday at the United Nations Office at Geneva. Full story
