Mr. President,
Dear Colleagues,
To advance sustainable development, we must keep both short-term and long-term interests in mind, tackle challenges with concrete efforts and work actively to transform and change our world.
-- We must uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. Without peace and stability, there will be no sustainable development; even the fruits of development already reaped risk being lost. The hard-won peace that has prevailed over the past 70 years or more testifies to the effectiveness of the existing international system with the UN at its core and of the norms of international relations established on the basis of the UN Charter. This international system and these norms governing international relations must be upheld resolutely, for they not only serve the common interests of people of all countries, but also provide the most essential guarantee for attainment of the sustainable development goals. Countries need to honor the purposes and principles of the UN Charter in letter and in spirit, and should support the leading role of the UN and its Security Council in global affairs. Countries need to be supportive of steady reform and improvement of global governance mechanisms, so as to adapt to the changing international political and economic landscape. A new concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security should be nurtured and a global partnership should be established that features "dialogue instead of confrontation, and partnership instead of alliance".
-- We must stay committed to the general direction of settling hotspot issues through political means. Political resolution is the fundamental way to address regional hotspot issues. History has shown once and again that to repress violence with force can only lead to more hatred and warfare, from which no winner will emerge. Parties involved in conflicts must reject the zero-sum mentality. They should settle disputes through dialogue, address differences through consultation and seek reconciliation with tolerance. The mediation efforts of the international community must be fair and impartial. It should only facilitate the settlement of issues, not invite new troubles. On the Syrian issue, it is important to seek a political settlement. The international community should step up efforts to encourage parties concerned in Syria to put an end to conflict at an early date and reach a deal for comprehensive political settlement. On the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, it is imperative to achieve denuclearization and maintain peace and stability both on the Peninsula and in the region. It is important to address issues through dialogue and consultation, and effectively uphold the international nuclear non-proliferation regime. Terrorism is the common enemy of mankind and must be combated resolutely. At the same time, the practice of double standard should be avoided and there should be no linkage between terrorism and a certain country, ethnicity or religion.
-- We must work together for steady recovery of the global economy. The world economy cannot afford long-term sluggishness, otherwise sustainable development will be a fountain without source. The current world economy is faced with both insufficient aggregate demand as well as outstanding structural problems. It is necessary to employ effective policy tools in a holistic manner, and to combine demand management with supply-side reform and short-term policies with long-term ones. At the G20 Hangzhou Summit, participants reached common ground and put forward a series of major initiatives and measures to strengthen macro policy coordination, find new ways of growth, advance structural reform, improve global economic and financial governance, reinvigorate international trade and investment, the twin engines of global growth, and achieve inclusive and interconnected development. We call on all countries to make concerted efforts to drive the global economy along a path of strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth. Major economies, given their significant influence, need to act in a responsible manner in policy-making and policy coordination. While focusing on their own growth, they also need to strive to reduce negative spill-overs of their policies and refrain from adding to the difficulty of global economic recovery.
Economic globalization, represented by trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, has been a strong driving force behind fast global growth in past decades. Yet, this is not to say that there exists any panacea in the world. Frankly, economic globalization has taken its toll on some industries and communities in certain countries to certain extent. Active measures need to be taken to address the problem, but it is always important to keep in mind the bigger picture instead of keeping one' s eyes on the narrow interests only. Economic globalization is a general trend that is in line with the long-term and fundamental interests of all countries. Countries need to stand firm to oppose protectionism of any form, and need to be resolute in upholding the free trade regime represented by the WTO. This is a way to enable sustained and sound economic growth for all countries through win-win and all-win development.
-- We must redouble efforts to address global challenges facing mankind. Greater attention and more support need to be given to Africa and the least developing countries (LDCs) to help them speed up industrialization, ensure food security, eliminate poverty and hunger, and provide everyone with a life of decency and dignity. More needs to be done to create an international environment that helps reduce inequality and imbalance in global development. International institutions should spend their newly-acquired resources on helping developing countries on a priority basis. Developed countries should make good on their official development assistance commitments, while developing countries need to rely on themselves for development and need to seek development paths that suit their national conditions. As we speak, the world is facing the largest-ever refugee crisis since World War II. It is imperative to ensure refugees access to basic living conditions to stave off a humanitarian crisis. Of fundamental importance is to root out the cause of war and restart development, so that source countries of refugees can embark on a path of long-term stability, development and prosperity. Countries need to stay committed to the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities, equity and respective capabilities, and need to jointly tackle climate change and work for the Paris Agreement to be universally accepted and take effect at an early date. Developed countries need to play a leading role, deliver on their emissions reduction pledges and help developing countries improve the capacity to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
