7, April 2005	Thursday	27 Safar 1426

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ISLAMABAD, April 6: Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said here on Wednesday that his country would never pose a threat to any other country nor would it seek to dominate Asia. “Some people are worried that a stronger and more developed China will pose a threat to other countries. Such a worry is completely misplaced,” he said in his key-note address at the opening ceremony of the fourth Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) here.

China was still a developing country with a per capita income of slightly over $1,000, well behind the 100th place in the world, he said.

“We will continue to concentrate on addressing domestic concerns,” he said. “We still have a long way to go before China is modernised. Even if we become stronger and more developed, we will not stand in the way of others, still less become a threat to others. China will never seek hegemony,” he added.

Mr Wen said China would continue to broaden and deepen its economic cooperation with Asian countries whether large or small, rich or poor, by considering them as equal partners.

“No matter how international climate might change, the Chinese people will always be trustworthy and reliable partner for the Asian people,” he said.

The Chinese prime minister said Asia faced numerous difficulties which posed a serious impediment to its growth.

“There are problems left over by history, such as territorial, ethnic and religious disputes. There are also hot-spot issues, uneven economic development, terrorism, transnational crime, environment degradation, spread of infectious diseases and other new problems and the existence and interweaving of all these problems have created a serious impediment to Asia’s development,” he said.

Asia’s natural and human resources and large market gave it an incomparable advantage for economic growth, but peace, stability and cooperation were necessary for prosperity, he added.

Mr Wen said Asia was a very complicated region in the world today, notwithstanding the promise it held out for the betterment of its people.

He called upon the 26-member ACD to take up the ‘historic responsibility’ to meet the challenges being faced by the region.

The ACD was set up in June 2002 in Thailand by 26 countries to work for real and tangible peace and prosperity for the people of Asia.

The Chinese premier was of the view that Asian countries would have to renew their joint commitment to a new Asia of peace, stability, cooperation and development. “Coming into the 21st century, Asia remains a dynamic region, facing a historical opportunity of rejuvenation and development generally”.

However, he said, the international situation provided Asia a favourable environment because of its rich natural and human resources. The broad market, he continued, gave Asia an incomparable advantage for sustained economic growth, institutional innovation, economic restructuring and technological leapfrogging in many countries, providing Asian economies with a powerful driving force for development.

“Regional cooperation with unique Asian characteristics is well on the upswing which promises to upgrade Asian competitiveness as a whole,” Mr Wen said.

He pointed out that Asia needed peace, stability, cooperation and development in all major fields. He said peace was a pre-condition and guarantee for well-being and prosperity and that warfare or conflicts not only caused agony and suffering to people but also wasted time and opportunity for national development.

“Mutual respect, dialogue on an equal footing, friendly consultation and mutual understanding and accommodation are the rational choices when it comes to resolving disputes and conflicts.”

He said ACD countries must spare no efforts to cultivate in Asia a regional environment of peace with mutual trust and lasting stability.

Domestic stability was essential to all Asian countries, he said, adding that regional cooperation was all the more important given the backdrop of the trend of economic globalization.

The Chinese prime minister regretted that most Asian countries were underdeveloped and the combined population of the poor made up two-thirds of the world’s total. “If Asia succeeds in achieving development and improving the living standard of its people, this is itself a monumental contribution to the whole world.”

A truly Asian century would never materialize unless Asia developed as a whole, he added.

He said Beijing had resolved boundary issues with its neighbours through consultation on an equal footing, mutual understanding and accommodation.

China, he said, supported the role of Asia-based regional and sub-regional cooperation mechanisms and was working hard to enhance political trust, deepen trade and economic cooperation, expand cultural exchanges and strengthen security dialogue with other Asian countries with a view to making greater contribution to Asian cooperation in all fields.

“Asia should be open to the outside world, while striving for development,” he said, adding that Asian cooperation was not exclusive, nor was it targeted against any other party.

Mr Wen said Asia had become the world’s fastest growing and most dynamic region economically by saying ‘no’ to backwardness.

He advised the ACD countries to focus on trade and economic cooperation while moving forward mutually beneficial cooperation across the board.

The Chinese prime minister said his people loved peace, cherished stability and sought cooperation and were committed to development like other Asian peoples.

He said in coping with the big challenges in resources and environment, China had made positive progress by mainly relying on its own efforts, while engaging in mutually beneficial cooperation with others, thus causing no trouble to others.

“And by adhering to the independent foreign policy of peace and strengthening good-neighbourliness and friendship with other countries, we have succeeded in securing an external environment favourable to our domestic development,” he said.

He said that China would continue to adhere to five principles of peaceful coexistence and step up dialogue and consultation which contributed to removing sticking points, increasing common understanding and arriving at a proper settlement of the issues left over by history.