Blake Island, Seattle

20 November 1993

President Clinton,

Colleagues and friends,

This Informal APEC Leadership Conference affords us an unusual opportunity of meeting with each other. I hope that the Conference will facilitate Asia-Pacific economic cooperation, enhance mutual understanding and trust and contribute to world peace and development in the region and the world.

The world is approaching the 21st century. We can draw useful lessons from a review of the past and a survey of the future. The 20th century has seen tremendous progress in civilization and fantastic advancement in science, technology and productive forces. On the other hand, it has been ridden by wars and fraught with insecurity. Two world wars were fought, not to speak of innumerable other conflicts or local wars. The world is now in a historic period of dramatic changes. The end of the Cold War and the breakup of the bipolar structure entail a positive evolution in international relations. At the same time, we have seen many local conflicts and complicated situations. The international scene is fluid and fraught with unpredictables. The world is far from being safe. Global peace and development still face severe tests.

What is gone is gone. Let us face the future. What kind of a world are we going to usher into the 21st century? This is an important question that we, as the current leaders, must carefully ponder and answer. There are a few years left in this century. We still have time to act and we certainly should try to achieve something. If we work together to surmount difficulties and obstacles, we can help bring about genuine peace and prosperity to mankind. People everywhere will acknowledge that we have done something great and significant. But if the world continues to be chaotic, insecure and plagued by economic troubles at the turn of the century, how are we going to account for this to the world people? As we assumed leadership at a time of transition from the old to the new century, we were predestined to carry such a responsibility.

The Asia-Pacific region has made a tremendous contribution to human civilization. Now it commands a great deal of attention from the international community and occupies an ascending place in global politics and economy. We are pleased that as a result of our common endeavours, Asia-Pacific has become a region full of dynamism and hope which enjoys relative political stability, sustained high economic growth, and a strong investment momentum, which holds out good prospects for trade and a huge potential for cooperation.

APEC covers a vast and highly diversified expanse in the Asia-Pacific region. It is the world's largest economic region and possesses the biggest markets and most favorable investment environment. The economies in our region are highly compatible and complementary with each other, and therefore have tremendous potentials for expanding cooperation. In the final analysis, a country or a region owes its development to a robust economy, and there can be no regional prosperity without the development of the component countries. All of us should adopt a development strategy compatible with our own conditions and strive first of all to manage our own affairs well. At the same time, we should go with the historical trend of increasing economic ties among different countries and regions by promoting international economic exchanges and cooperation, especially within our own region. Asia-Pacific countries should have a long-term strategic perspective. We should look ahead into the 2lst century and exert concerted efforts to ensure a sustained and steady economic growth in each country and the region as a whole. Regional economic cooperation should be geared to common prosperity and conducted on the principles of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit and opening to one another. In practical terms, we should bilaterally and multilaterally conduct multi-form, multi-tier and multi-channel cooperation progressively in the light of the actual conditions and specific characteristics of the region, thereby continuously opening new scopes for the economic development of the region.

A region cannot achieve economic development in isolation of the rest of the world. Asia - Pacific countries should be oriented to their own region as well as the rest of the world. We should open ourselves to countries within and without our region. And we should work for a fair and just economic relationship both within our region and throughout the world. Many developing countries are weighed down by economic woes and the gap between the North and the South continues to widen. All this is seriously hampering world economy. If all of us keep in mind the development of the entire mankind, it will not be difficult for us to come to a common understanding of the necessity and importance of reforming the existing unjust international economic order and helping relieve the developing countries from poverty. We will come to recognize that this is not only an urgent call from the developing countries, but also meets the actual needs of the developed countries to bolster their economies. All countries in the world should join hands and try to fulfill this common task so as to promote regional and global economic well-being.

Economic development and cooperation would not be possible without a peaceful and stable international environment. No development is possible in troubled times. This has been borne out by recent and past history. Global order or disorder is largely decided by

the state of international relations. Only when all countries abide by the principles of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit and peaceful coexistence can a new type of international relations be established and developed and can world peace and development be ensured.

The Asia-Pacific region does not owe its success to the formation of a bloc, be it economic, political, or military. The boom in our region is attributable to the policy of opening-up and cooperation, to the readiness of learning from one another and supplying each other's needs, and to the observance of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit. Proceeding from this viewpoint, we hold that APEC should be an open, flexible and pragmatic forum for economic cooperation and a consultation mechanism rather than a c1osed , institutiona1ized economic bloc.

Thanks to her 15 years' efforts in reform and opening-up, China has been able to score remarkable success. We have achieved political stability, social tranquility and accelerated economic growth. Our reform and opening-up programme and the socialist market economy which we are building fully tally with China's actual conditions, and have won the support of people of all nationalities in our country. Our central task is to go all out to bolster our economy. Our basic policy regarding reform and opening-up will remain firm and unshakable. Indeed, our reform and opening-up is irreversible. We will only further deepen and build on it. What is also irreversible is that China will enjoy greater economic growth and social progress, and that our democracy and legal system will be further strengthened. We have full confidence in our country's future.

China practices all-directional opening-up. We are open to the entire world, primarily to the Asia-Pacific region. We have a strong interest in participating in and promoting regional economic cooperation. It is our firm policy to expand economic cooperation and trade with other Asia-Pacific countries.

China unswervingly pursues an independent foreign policy of peace and has been making unremitting efforts towards the maintenance of regional and world peace and stability. We never seek hegemony. We keep away from arms race and military blocs and never seek any sphere of influence. We always strive to develop friendly relations and cooperation with our neighbors and al1 other countries of the world on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful and Coexistence. China cannot develop in isolation of the world. The world equally needs China for development. A stable, developed and prosperous China will by no means pose a threat to any country, instead, it will only contribute more to the peace and development of the Asia-Pacific region and the world at large.

Friendship and cooperation are the bridge to lasting peace and common prosperity. Let us be sincere friends; let us seek common ground and put aside differences; and let us strengthen our cooperation and work together for a more splendid new Asia-Pacific century.

Thank you.