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<text> <title> China's Li Peng at UN Security Council Summit </title> <article> <hdr> Foreign Policy Bulletin, January-April 1992 Security Council Summit Meeting: Li Peng, Premier of the People's Republic of China </hdr> <body> For the first time in the 47-year history of the United Nations, the Security Council meets here today at the level of Heads of State or Government of its Member States. I am very glad to have this opportunity to attend this meeting, as the representative of the People's Republic of China and, together with my colleagues from other countries, discuss major international issues including, in particular, ways to give support to a greater role of the United Nations in maintaining peace and promoting development in the world, as well as exchange views on other issues of common interest. I wish to avail myself of this opportunity to thank the Right Honorable John Major, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, for his initiative for holding this meeting. I would also like to express once again our warmest congratulations to Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali on his assumption of the office of the U.N. Secretary-General. World at Turning Point The present-day world is at a vital turning point. The old structure has come to an end while a new one has yet to take shape. The world is moving in a direction of multipolarization. World peace, national stability, economic development are the aspirations shared by the people everywhere. The tense face-off of the two major military blocs in Europe which lasted for nearly half a century is no longer in place. Some regional hot-spots have either been, or are in the process of being, removed. The international situation has eased to some extent. However, factors threatening world peace and causing international tension have not been removed completely. While some old contradictions and confrontations have disappeared, new ones have cropped up, rendering our world neither tranquil nor peaceful. The Middle East question remains unresolved after the Gulf War. And the peace talks between the Arab countries and Israel are likely to be a long and difficult process. In some European countries, conflicts of differing intensities or even wars have broken out as a result of ethnic strifes. No one can say for sure similar conflicts and wars will not take place in other parts of Europe. What deserves the close attention of the international community is that the developing countries, whose population constitutes the overwhelming majority of the world's total, are finding themselves in an increasingly difficult position. The gap between the North and the South continues to widen, with the rich countries becoming richer and the poor poorer. Such a state of affairs, if allowed to continue, will eventually lead to fresh disturbances or even new regional conflicts. The stark realities show that the questions of peace and development, the two principal themes of the present-day world, remain to be solved. In contrast to a turbulent Europe, the Asia-Pacific region enjoys relative stability. The signing of the Paris Agreement has laid the foundation for the final settlement of the Cambodian conflict. Following their simultaneous participation in the United Nations, the North and South of Korea have signed the protocol on mutual nonaggression and the joint declaration on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The situation on the peninsula is moving towards relaxation and stability. Quite a few countries in the Asia-Pacific region have enjoyed a rather high economic growth rate thanks to political stability at home. This region has now become a dynamic and promising region in world economic development. Importance of a Stable China A stable and economically prosperous China not only is in the fundamental interests of the Chinese people, but also constitutes an important factor making for peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region and the world as a whole. Over the past decade or more, China has firmly implemented the policy of reform and opening to the outside world initiated by Comrade Deng Xiaoping, which has brought enormous changes to the country. Right now, China enjoys political stability, social tranquility, ethnic harmony and a sustained economic growth. With full confidence, the Chinese people are advancing on the road of building socialism with Chinese characteristics. As a developing country with a huge population, China knows full well that its modernization will take a considerably long period of time. The attainment of this goal requires two indispensable conditions, namely, an environment of prolonged peace and stability internationally and prolonged political stability at home. China's Foreign Policy China pursues an independent foreign policy of peace. It always maintains that differences in social system, ideology, cultural tradition and religious belief should not be an obstacle to establishing and developing normal relations between states. China is ready to develop friendly relations with all countries on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. It will never become a threat to any country or any region in the world. China is of the view that no country should seek hegemony or practice power politics. This should be made a principle to be observed universally in international relations. China does not seek a sphere of influence for itself. It does not seek hegemony now, and will not seek hegemony in future when it grows stronger. The past few years saw further strengthening and development of the friendly and good-neighborly relations between China and its surrounding countries, which is the result of the concerted efforts by China and those countries. This, in our view, not only serves the common interest of both China and those countries, but also contributes to peace and development of the region and the world as a whole. Basic Principles for New International Order Mr. President, in order to win a genuine peace in the world and create a favorable environment for development for the people in all countries, the international community is focusing more and more on the subject of what a new international order should be. In our view, such basic principles as sovereign equality of Member States and noninterference in their internal affairs, as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, should be observed by all its Members without exception. In compliance with the spirit of the Charter and the established norms governing international relations, and in light of the changes in the international situation, the Chinese Government wishes to share with the government of other countries some of its basic views concerning the establishment of a new international order that will be stable, rational, just and conducive to world peace and development. These basic views are: -- The new international order should be established on the basis of the principles of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual nonaggression, noninterference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit and peaceful coexistence. The core of these principles is noninterference in each other's internal affairs. The people and governments of various countries are entitled to adopt the social system and ideology of their own choice in light of their national conditions. -- Countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, are all entitled to participate in world affairs as equal members of [the] international community and make their own contributions to world peace and development. -- The new international order should include a new economic order. As the ever-widening gap between the North and the South and the continued sharpening of their contradictions have become a destabilizing factor in international life, the establishment of a just and rational new international economic order based on equality, mutual benefit and providing for appropriate handling of the debt burden has become ever more urgent and crucial. -- Human rights and fundamental freedoms of the entire mankind should be universally respected. Human rights cover many aspects. They include not only civil and political rights, but also economic, social and cultural rights. As far as the large numbers of developing countries are concerned, the rights to independence, subsistence and development are of paramount importance. In essence, the issue of human rights falls within the sovereignty of each country. A country's human rights situation should not be judged in total disregard of its history and national conditions. It is neither appropriate nor workable to demand that all countries measure up to the human rights criteria or models of one or a small number of countries. China values human rights and stands ready to engage in discussion and cooperation with other countries on an equal footing on the question of human rights on the basis of mutual understanding, mutual respect and seeking consensus while reserving differences. However, it is opposed to interference in the internal affairs of other countries using the human rights issue as an excuse. -- Effective disarmament and arms control should be achieved in a fair, reasonable, comprehensive and balanced manner. Efforts should be stepped up to attain complete prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear and chemical weapons at an early date and to ban the development of space weapons. Countries in possession of the largest nuclear and conventional arsenals should take the lead in the discharge of their special responsibilities for disarmament. All nuclear weapon states should undertake not to be the first to use nuclear weapons, or to use such weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states or nuclear-free zones. The nuclear weapons of the disintegrated Soviet Union should be placed under effective control. As the disarmament issue bears on national security of all states, it should be discussed and addressed with their participation. -- The United Nations should uphold justice and play a more active role in maintaining world peace and promoting development, as well as in helping establish a new international order. As most U.N. member states belong to the developing world, it is only reasonable for people to expect that the organization will do more in defending the rights and interests of the developing countries. Role of the United Nations Mr. President, in recent years the United Nations has played an important role in maintaining world peace and security, accelerating settlement of regional conflicts and promoting economic and social development of various countries. In so doing, the United Nations has enhanced its prestige and that of its Security Council and increased people's confidence in the organization. While affirming this, we must also be aware that the drastic and profound changes in the international situation have led to the reemergence of numerous contradictions previously hidden from public eye, adding to instability in the pursuit of peace and development in the world. It is in this sense that the responsibility of the United Nations and its Security Council has become heavier and the challenges facing them more formidable. China is ready to cooperate with all the other Members of the Security Council, discuss issues of common interest to the international community and exchange views with them as equals in the spirit of seeking common ground while reserving differences so as to expand areas of consensus. China sincerely hopes that the United Nations and its Security Council will play a still more active and constructive role in international affairs. Now, we have a newly elected U.N. Secretary-General, Dr. Ghali. China supports the work of the Secretary-General and wishes to pledge full cooperation. We are confident that in discharging his duties, the Secretary-General will receive extensive support from the developing countries and the international community at large. Mr. President, it is our hope that this meeting will have a positive impact on the maintenance of world peace and security and play an important role in helping establish the new international order and defend the rights and interests of the developing countries, thus making a contribution to the progress of humanity. Thank you, Mr. President. (Text provided by the Embassy of the People's Republic of China, Washington.) The presidency of the Security Council rotates among the members in alphabetical order for one-month periods. The United Kingdom, as presiding member for January, provided impetus for the meeting, and its Prime Minister, John Major chaired it. The statements reprinted here are those of the five Permanent Members of the Security Council. They are in alphabetical order (by country) except for the United Kingdom, placed last because Prime Minister Major read the "President's Statement" on behalf of the entire Council. The ten Nonpermanent Members (Nonpermanent Members are elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly) were represented by: Austria, Chancellor Franz Vranitsky; Belgium, Prime Minister Wilfred Martens; Cape Verde, Prime Minister Carlos Veiga; Ecuador, President Rodrigo Borja; Hungary, Foreign Minister Geca Jeszensky (representing Prime Minister Jozsef Antall); India, Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao; Japan, Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa; Morocco, King Hassan II; Venezuela, President Carlos Andres Perez; Zimbabwe, Foreign Minister Nathan Shamuyarira (representing President Robert Gabriel Mugabe). Texts of their statements can be obtained from the United Nations in New York or from the Missions of the individuals nations to the U.N. </body> </article> </text>