Beijing won’t upend global order: Official
Asian countries applauded for seeking peaceful solutions to resolving disputes
A senior Chinese official on Tuesday reiterated China’s stance on not engaging in a Cold War, emphasizing the value of peace and a commitment to maintaining the current international order.
“People in Asia have our own way of dealing with each other, which values peace above everything else, and seeks peaceful solutions for disputes,” said Liu Jianchao, head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, who also called for strengthening dialogue and communication between China and the United States.
“China does not seek to change the current international order, much less reinvent the wheel by creating a new international order. We are one of the builders of the current world order and have benefited from it.
“We will continue to uphold the international system with the UN at its core, the international order underpinned by international law, and the basic norms governing international relations.”
Liu led a CPC delegation on a visit this week to the US, where he was invited to deliver a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
Liu’s visit took place around two months after President Xi Jinping met with US President Joe Biden in California on Nov 15. This year also marks the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the United States.
“Looking back, we see that this relationship has brought tremendous benefits to the two peoples and other peoples in the world,” Liu said. “What is needed now is not waiting or debating, but to act upon it, which will strengthen dialogue and communication.”
The speech was also delivered before the upcoming regional leadership election in Taiwan on Jan 13. Liu stressed that China hopes that the US will abide by its commitment not to support “Taiwan independence”.
“We take seriously the statements of the United States not supporting ‘Taiwan independence’, and we hope that the US side will honor this commitment, which will expand mutually beneficial cooperation,” Liu said.
“Mutually beneficial cooperation brings benefits to our two peoples and certainty to our relationship. This is what we have learned from the past 45 years of interactions, and something we must continue in the future.”
Liu also addressed China’s efforts to alleviate the concerns of US businesses. Moving forward, China will continue to expand institutional opening-up with regard to rules, regulations and management.
China will also try to address other concerns such as market access to the service sector and cross-border flow of data.
“In the same line, we hope that the United States keeps its markets open and provides the Chinese companies with an equitable, just, nondiscriminatory business environment as well,” he said.
For China’s domestic policy, Liu emphasized the need to shift from a growth model focused on speed to one that prioritizes quality.
China stands ready to work together with the US to truly implement the San Francisco summit vision and bring China-US scientific and technological exchanges back to the right track, Liu said.
He highlighted the importance of balancing security and development, suggesting that a secure environment is crucial for high-quality development.
“Will China ignore development as it talks more about security? Indeed, China has highlighted the importance of security just as other countries. We believe high quality of development can only be achieved in a highly secure environment,” Liu said.
“But what we pursue is a balanced and positive interplay between security and development.”
Liu also met with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday.