Three wants and three want-nots

China's foreign policy seeks peace, development and cooperation instead of conflict, poverty and confrontation

Recently, some people in Australia have shown a keen interest in the orientation of China's foreign policy. I would like to share my thoughts on this issue.

First, the centerpiece of China's foreign policy can be characterized as "three wants and three don't wants". As the report to the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out, mankind has only one Earth to live on, and countries have only one world to share. The arbitrary use of force cannot make the world a better place.

We want peace not conflict, we want development not poverty, we want cooperation not confrontation, and we advocate building a harmonious world of enduring peace and common prosperity, which is the common aspiration of people of all countries. To that end, China calls for the building of a new type of international relations featuring equality, mutual trust, inclusiveness, mutual learning and win-win cooperation. It is committed to upholding world peace and promoting the common development of all countries.

Second, China will never waver in its resolve to follow the path of peaceful development. China is a peace-loving nation. The idea of peaceful development is rooted in and built upon the fine traditions of Chinese culture. It is also a natural conclusion the Chinese people have come to after all the trials and tribulations they have experienced in modern times. With the scourge of war stuck in their minds, they will never falter in their pursuit of peace. Turmoil is what the Chinese people want least. They long for stability and prevailing peace in the world.

China is firmly committed to the path of peaceful development. Unlike rising powers in the past, China will not seek dominance when it gets strong. We are committed to developing friendships and partnerships with neighboring countries, and we strive to consolidate amicable ties with them and to develop in a way that brings more benefits to our neighbors. China will not seek development at the cost of other countries.

Having said that, we will not sacrifice our core national interests in our pursuit of peaceful development. While China takes a path of peaceful development, other countries need to follow a similar path. For only when all countries commit to peaceful development can we live in peace, progress together and have a truly peaceful world.

Third, China will unswervingly follow the win-win strategy of opening-up. As stated in the 18th CPC National Congress report, China will promote robust, sustainable and balanced growth of the global economy through increased cooperation, strengthen macroeconomic policy coordination with other major economies, and resolve economic and trade frictions with others through consultation. We will also endeavor to narrow the North-South gap and support other developing countries in enhancing their capacity for self-development.

Just as a prosperous and stable world means opportunities for China, a growing China means opportunities for the world. We will better coordinate domestic development and opening-up, align China's development with that of the world, take a more active part in international affairs to jointly meet global challenges and make new contributions to the world's development.

Some Australian friends are also interested in the question of the Diaoyu Islands. The Diaoyu Islands and their adjacent islets have been an inherent part of Chinese territory since ancient times. They were discovered and named by the Chinese people as early as the 14th century and were under the sovereignty of China during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties.

Maps such as A New Map of China from the Latest Authorities published in Britain in 1811 and Colton's China published in the United States in 1859 all marked the Diaoyu Islands as part of Chinese territory. After World War II, the stolen Diaoyu Islands were restored to China under such international instruments as the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation. Any unilateral move by any country cannot change the fact that the Diaoyu Islands belong to China. Bearing in mind the larger picture, the Chinese side has made relentless efforts to resolve this issue through dialogue and negotiation. This serves the fundamental interests of all parties concerned and is conducive to maintaining peace, stability and development in the Asia-Pacific.

Cyberattacks are a global issue. China is one of the main victims of such attacks. In 2012, 14 million computers in China were controlled by 73,000 overseas IP addresses. Coincidentally, most of the attackers were located in the country that has most frequently accused China of hacking. The Chinese government firmly opposes and has fought hard against cyber intrusions according to international law. In recent years, we have carried out bilateral law-enforcement cooperation with more than 30 countries, and tabled to the United Nations a draft International Code of Conduct for Information Security. China calls on the international community to work together to build, on this basis, a cyberspace that is peaceful, safe, open and cooperative.

The author is ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Australia.

(China Daily 03/14/2013 page9)