LONDON, July 8 (Xinhua) -- China and Britain have continued to maintain close exchanges this year, with bilateral cooperation yielding fruitful results, a Chinese Embassy official in Britain said Wednesday.
Bi Haibo, minister counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Britain, made the remarks at a media briefing in London on China's foreign policy and a recently released white paper titled "More Just and Equitable Global Governance: China's Principles, Proposals and Actions."
Bi said China stands ready to continue working with Britain on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, and to maintain the sound and long-term development of China-Britain relations.
The white paper, released by China's State Council Information Office on June 17, sets out China's principles, proposals and actions on global governance.
It depicts China as an active participant in, contributor to and builder of global governance, and calls for efforts to build a more just and equitable global governance system.
Bi said the document offers a systematic explanation of China's approach to foreign policy and global governance at a time when the world faces growing deficits in peace, development, security and trust.
China follows an independent foreign policy of peace and upholds sovereign equality as a fundamental principle in international relations, he said, adding that countries, regardless of size, strength or wealth, are equal members of the international community.
Responding to a question from Xinhua on claims by some Western scholars and politicians that China's cooperation with other countries resembles a so-called "21st-century tributary system," Bi dismissed such rhetoric as a misreading and oversimplification of China's foreign policy.
"Such an argument lags behind the times," Bi said. "It fails to grasp the development of China's diplomacy, and fails to understand the real spirit of China's foreign policy."
He said applying concepts from ancient history to interpret China's current diplomacy is neither accurate nor acceptable, as China's foreign policy today is based on sovereign equality, mutual respect, win-win cooperation and non-interference in other countries' internal affairs.
China does not seek to impose its model on others, nor does it force or coerce any country to side with China, Bi said. This is fundamentally different from alliance-based approaches pursued by some Western countries, whether military, economic or ideological, he added.
Bi added China regards itself as a member of the Global South and firmly supports the equal participation of all countries in international governance. Enditem
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