Full Text: Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao's Remarks at the Opening Ceremony of the Fourth World Peace Forum (1)

Following is the full text of the remarks of Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao at the opening ceremony of the fourth World Peace Forum on June 27:

Working Together to Build A Community of Common Destiny for World Peace and Security

Remarks by H.E. Li Yuanchao

Vice President of the People's Republic of China

At the Opening Ceremony of the Fourth World Peace Forum

Tsinghua University, 27 June 2015

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Friends,

It gives me great pleasure to come back to Tsinghua University for the World Peace Forum. Let me extend, on behalf of the Chinese government, warm congratulations on the opening of the Forum and a big welcome to all participants.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of the World Anti-Fascist War and the founding of the United Nations. The theme of this year's Forum "Overcome Difficulties: Understanding, Consultation and Reciprocity" is both timely and relevant. As President Xi Jinping pointed out, in today's world, the interests, prosperity and security of countries are closely intertwined; we should all work together to build a new type of international relations based on win-win cooperation and foster a community of common destiny for all. Here, I wish to share with you some of my thoughts on building a community of common destiny.

I. Mankind is moving towards a community of common destiny which links us together like passengers in the same boat

Throughout history, civilizations in different parts of the world have interacted with and enriched each other. From geographical isolation to the gradual forming of societies and nation-states, and through thousands of years of conflicts and war, it finally dawned on us that we share a common destiny. This understanding represents the progress of human civilization and trend of the times. After the scourge of the two world wars, we have increasingly realized that confrontation and war will eventually bring about the demise of mankind and we must work for the well-being of all mankind before we can achieve success for ourselves. In today's world, countries have increasing commonalities of both interests and challenges in their development and governance. As such, a wise man who follows the trend of the times should embrace a sense of community of common destiny for all.

First, there are increasing commonalities in production pattern, as a result of scientific innovation and productivity increases. This is mostly driven by the globalization of market mechanisms and popularization of the Internet. The manufacturing of goods, from Boeing 747 airliners to smartphones, is done through collaboration among hundreds of companies in dozens of countries. Global online sales through Alibaba, a Chinese e-commerce giant, topped RMB57 billion within a day, on November 11 last year, known as the Singles' Day in China. Some scholars have put forth the term of "a society of zero marginal cost", meaning that the power of the Internet, which brings down marginal cost of production and services to near zero, will usher in a new era of working and sharing for human society.

Second, there are increasing commonalities in the development and prosperity of different countries and regions as a result of profound globalization of trade, finance, investment, resources, education,tourism and scientific and technological innovation. In 2014, export of goods totalled US$18.4 trillion worldwide and China ranked at the top. Globally, foreign direct investment reached US$1.26 trillion, of which US$120 billion flowed to and US$116 billion out of China. Worldwide, 1.14 billion tourists travelled to other countries and Chinese nationals made over 100 million outbound visits.

In the meantime, countries are increasingly facing common challenges and crises: financial crises, terrorist activities, climate change, epidemics and wealth gap, to name but a few. The subprime mortgage crisis, which stemmed from the US seven years ago and soon spread to the rest of the world, has put the global economy on a decline for years running and recovery remains weak till this very day. The Ebola epidemic came to be one of the gravest public health crises in decades, and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) has posed yet another challenge to mankind.

There are also increasing commonalities among countries in strengthening global governance and order. War and crisis prevention,counter terrorism, scientific and technological innovation, financial regulation, climate change, development assistance and global poverty eradication, none of these challenges can be addressed by one or a few countries. They can only be effectively tackled through cooperation on a global scale.

We have only one planet, and countries share one world. With the penetrating influence of globalization and the Internet, the 7.2 billion citizens of this planet, coming from different cultures, ethnic groups, religions and social systems, are all in the same boat journey together.Every country, from its government to businesses and to the general public, needs to foster a sense of togetherness, and jointly build, safeguard and grow a community of common destiny with all others. We should seek common interests through mutually beneficial cooperation, work together to address challenges and enhance common governance, with a view to enjoying common development and common security.

Specifically, there are two areas we can work on to build a community of common destiny for all. The first one is to advance regional integration. After World War II, especially in the past two decades, regional integration has been moving ahead at a faster pace. European integration is advancing on all fronts, from the economic field to political security. North America enjoys deeper economic and trade integration. Regional integration in Latin America is picking up speed.Africa is also moving towards integration. Asia, one of the most dynamic and promising regions in the world, is somewhat lagging in its integration process. We must speed up integration of Asia if we are to achieve development and build a community of common destiny in Asia. The second area to work on is to build frameworks to address the most pressing issues facing mankind. The United Nations, the World Trade Organization and G20 are important mechanisms for global peace and security and inclusive development. Mechanisms such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), the ASEAN Plus One and the ASEAN Plus Three Summits have played an important role in promoting regional peace and development. Today, as we face new problems and complex challenges, we need to strengthen common structures in a creative way and make the global governance system more just, equitable and effective. (mo