President Xi Jinping speaks on China-India relations
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E-mail CNTV, September 19, 2014
Xi: When China and India speak, the world listens
Currently, the trends of peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit can be felt more than ever. Nevertheless, there have been some problems. Global challenges emerge one after another, and regional conflicts as well as local wars can still be seen in parts of the globe. It's a long and daunting task to maintain world peace and promote common growth. China and India face similar challenges and share broad common interests in terms of global issues, therefore we shoulder great responsibilities.
China and India have a combined population of more than 2.5 billion. If China and India speak with one voice, the whole world will listen. If China and India join hands, the whole world will be watching. China and India should strengthen strategic cooperation in dealing with global issues. We should inherit and carry forward the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. We should stick to the ideas of sovereign equality, fairness and justice, common security, common growth, mutual benefits, and inclusiveness, so that we can maintain the common interests of not just our two nations, but the vast numbers of developing countries.
China and India should use our own growth to contribute more to the world's economic growth and global governance. We should put forward plans that represent the interests of the vast number of developing countries in terms of climate change, food safety, energy and internet security, and other global issues. China is willing to enhance strategic cooperation with India based on multiple mechanisms including the China-Russia-India group, the BRICS, the G20, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and more. China supports India's aspiration to play a more active role in the UN, as well as the UN Security Council.
Xi: China, India can make peace between giant neighbors
There are rows and discord between neighbors. China and India should view the border issue as well as other issues left over from history in a positive light. Through friendly negotiation, the two countries should strive to find a solution that is fair and acceptable for both sides. At the same time, we shall not neglect our friendship and cooperation and put our eyes only on the disagreement, or disrupt the development and the overall stability of our relations. I believe China and India, as two ancient civilizations, have the ability and wisdom to find ways to make peace between the two giant neighbors.
Ladies, gentlemen and friends.
Many friends in India are paying close attention to the development of China, and hope China has a better future. Over 30 years since China's reform and opening up, China has achieved prominent success in its economic and social development. The life of Chinese people has improved gradually, and other countries in the world are benefiting from China's growth. However, there have been those who have suggested that China will follow the footsteps of big powers and seek hegemony on the world stage once it grows strong. They have also suggested that China will become a threat to other nations. I want to make it clear: China will unswervingly pursue the path of peaceful development.
Xi: China will pursue path of peaceful development
The Chinese nation loves peace. Peace, concord and harmony--these are the pursuits that are deeply rooted in the spirit of Chinese people. China has always vowed that the strong shall not bully the weak and the rich shall not insult the poor. It also gave birth to the motto that "nations in favour of fighting shall perish, no matter how large they are." Other concepts like "Harmony Is precious", "Harmony in diversity", "Turn hostility into friendship", "Unity of the world" have also passed on from generation to generation. China, in ancient times, was always a strong nation. Despite that, what it spread, were only the concepts of peace, and its products; namely silk, tea and porcelain. China's concept of "Unity of the world" is interlinked with India's concept of "the whole world is a family". China's "universal fraternity" is also interlinked with India's idea of "non-violence". We two nations both view "Peace" as the very essence of the world and hope all nations can live in peace and co-exist in harmony.
Xi: China should be a nation of learning
The Chinese nation has always attached importance to learning. It makes a point of distilling knowledge from broad reading and act with restraint when one has accumulated much, as recommended by the ancient Chinese writer Su Dongpo. We stress the lines from the Analects of Confucius that say: if there are three of us walking together, at least one is good enough to be my teacher. And also we advocate the principle of extensive study of what is good, accurate inquiry about it, careful reflection on it, the clear discrimination of it, and the earnest practice of it, as expressed in the ancient Chinese classic, the Book of Rites.
The spirit of emulating those better than oneself and being tolerant of diversity has benefited the Chinese nation through thousands of years' of history. I have always stressed that China should be a big country that is good at learning. As an ancient Chinese saying goes: an inch may be too long, a foot may be too short. One should learn not to be conceited, self-satisfied or overwhelming, and instead being modest and prudent, learning diligently and making good one's deficiencies.
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