Looking back over mankind's long history of war and peace, one is deeply struck by the fact that peace does not come easily and thus should be doubly treasured.

In recent years, while there has been some relaxation in the international situation, peace has not prevailed in the world. On the regional level, tensions persist. Armed conflicts and local wars break out continuously and hegemonism and power politics are still lingering on. While old contradictions have yet to be fundamentally resolved, new contradictions emerge. International arms control and disarmament is still a long-term, arduous task. The complete eradication of the disaster of war and the realization of a complete and lasting peace, therefore, remain a highly complex and difficult task before the peace-loving people of the world.

The world wants peace, nations want development and society wants progress--this has become the irresistible tide of the day. As long as the peoples of all nations work together, adhering to the road of peace and development, continuing to unflaggingly promote the arms control and disarmament process, and sparing no effort to establish a new peaceful, stable, fair and reasonable international political and economic order on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and other commonly recognized standards for international relations, a long-lasting peace is possible, and the righteousness of peace and development will ultimately and veritably triumph over the evils of war.

In the future China will unswervingly promote arms control and disarmament as it has in the past, joining together with the peace-loving people of all the nations in the world, working untiringly to bring a peaceful, stable, prosperous and happy new world into the 21st century.