H.E. Alhaj Altaf Hossain Chowdhury,
Hon'ble Commerce Minister,
H.E. Shah Mohd. Abul Hossain,
Hon'ble State Minister for Finance,
H.E. Barkat Ullah Bulu,
Hon'ble Advisor of the Ministry of Commerce,
Mr. President Siddiqui and dear friends from BCCEMCC,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good afternoon!
On the auspicious occasion of celebrating the 55th founding anniversary of the People's Republic of China, it is a great pleasure for me and my colleagues to attend this discussion meeting on "Independent Peace Foreign Policy of China and its International Status" organized by the Bangladesh-China Cultural, Economic & Mass Communication Center. First of all, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Hon'ble Commerce Minister, Hon'ble State Minister for Finance, Hon'ble Advisor of Commerce Ministry and other distinguished guests for taking the trouble to grace the occasion. I would also like to cordially thank President Siddiqui and members of BCCEMCC for hosting this meaningful function.
We feel very proud to say that nowadays China is enjoying political stability, economic prosperity, cultural diversity and social harmony. The Chinese people are working hard to realize the goal of building a well-off society in an all-round way. The development of China needs a peaceful international environment. That's the reason why China unswervingly pursues an independent foreign policy of peace. The fundamental goals of this policy are to preserve China's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, create a favorable international environment for China's reform and opening up and modernization construction, maintain world peace and propel common development.
In the world today, peace and development remain the themes of the times, but the world is far from tranquil. Hegemonism and power politics are manifesting themselves in new ways, terrorist activities are still at a serious level, and violence and local wars sometimes break out due to ethnic conflicts or religious disputes. They all threaten the security and stability of the world. The Chinese nation has always cherished peace and harmony. We are ready to work with all nations to advance the lofty cause of world peace and development. We stand for establishing a new, just and rational international political and economic order. We will always hold high the banner of peace, development and cooperation, adhere to an independent foreign policy of peace and take the road of peaceful development. China will never seek hegemony or expansion. We will always focus on achieving peace, security, cooperation and prosperity, seek friendship and partnership with our neighbors, and carry out a foreign policy of living in harmony with our neighboring countries, sharing security with them and helping them prosper. China will always be a firm force in maintaining world peace and promoting common development.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thanks to our consistent pursuance of the independent diplomatic policy of peace, China's status in the international community and its impact in international affairs have been further enhanced. The growth rate of China's GDP in 2003 stood at 9.1%, with per capita GDP reaching 1090 US dollars. China's foreign trade expanded to 850 billion US dollars, ranking the third in the world. And I feel especially proud to mention that China successfully launched its first manned spacecraft in October last year, realizing our long-cherished dream of putting a man into space.
Talking about China's development, I cannot avoid mentioning the question of Taiwan. Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory. Our fundamental policy on the settlement of the Taiwan question is "peaceful reunification" and "one country, two systems". We will absolutely not tolerate the "Taiwan Independence" forces' attempt to separate Taiwan from China. We are ready to strive for the prospects of peaceful reunification with our utmost sincerity and utmost efforts, but we are also fully determined and capable of smashing any scheme to separate Taiwan from China.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Chinese Government has always attached great importance to developing friendly relations and cooperation with Bangladesh. During the past 29 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, both countries have followed the five principles of peaceful coexistence, respected each other and treated each other as equals. The friendly relations and cooperation between our two countries have been growing soundly and smoothly. We share basically identical opinions on most international and regional issues and conduct close coordination with each other in the international arena. I am firmly confident that through the joint efforts of our governments and people, the friendly relations between China and Bangladesh will achieve greater development with a brand new posture in the years to come.
Thank you.