Full Text: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's speech at the luncheon of the Fourth World Peace Forum (1)

Following is the full text of the speech of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the luncheon of the Fourth World Peace Forum in Beijing on June 27:

China's Role in the Global and Regional Order:

Participant, Facilitator and Contributor

Speech at the luncheon of the Fourth World Peace Forum

By H.E. Foreign Minister Wang Yi

27 June 2015

Distinguished Guests,

Friends,

It is my great pleasure to come back to the World Peace Forum.

Peace is an eternal theme of mankind, and is also a goal that we all strive to attain. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of the World's Anti-Fascist War and the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. China will join countries across the world in commemorating this unforgettable episode of history and opposing rhetorics and actions that glorify aggression, to make sure that war will not recur and peace will be everlasting.

In this context, it is all the more timely and relevant for people of vision from all over the world to meet in Beijing and discuss important matters bearing on world peace. At the opening session of the Forum this morning, Vice President Li Yuanchao laid out China's vision to work with other countries in building a community of common destiny for world peace and security. I hope and I believe that this initiative for peace has been well-received by this distinguished audience.

China has always been dedicated to safeguarding world peace. China is a participant as well as facilitator and contributor in the global and regional order. Let me share with you China' s views and thinking on this subject.

Seventy years ago, in the smoky ruins of the World's Anti-Fascist War and after painful reflection, the international community established the international order and system with the United Nations as the core and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter as the cornerstone, thus opening a new chapter in the history of international relations. As one of the main victorious countries, China took an active part in and made important contribution to this historical process. China was the first country to sign on the UN Charter.

Seventy years on, even as China focuses on developing itself, China has never allowed itself to ignore its due international responsibilities. Both internationally and regionally, it has played a constructive role in maintaining peace, promoting development, and safeguarding and improving post-war international order and system.

First, China's foreign policy has been imbued with the letter and spirit of the UN Charter. The UN Charter embodies the international aspiration for preventing war, preserving peace and promoting cooperation. It established vital principles of sovereign equality, non-interference in other countries' internal affairs, peaceful resolution of disputes and prohibition against the use or threat of force. And as such, it became the cornerstone for guiding and regulating contemporary international relations.

Embracing the principles of the UN Charter, China has been committed to international peace, security and cooperation. We jointly proposed the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence with India and Myanmar, which reflect the spirit of the UN Charter. These principles have since become widely recognized norms governing international relations. We consistently stand for peaceful settlement of international disputes and equality of countries irrespective of size. We oppose willful use of force and reject power politics and zero-sum game.

We are dedicated to fostering a new pattern of state-to-state relations with win-win cooperation as the core and based on partnership instead of alliance and cooperation rather than confrontation.

As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, we are aware of our responsibilities for world peace. China's vote at the Security Council can be counted on to always promote international fairness and justice and uphold the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries and small countries. In a similar vein, China has never exercised its veto but to check the instinct of war and resist power politics.

Second, China has taken an extensive part in the settlement of global hotspot issues. Decades ago, we actively advanced the Indochina peace process, called for and realized the peaceful settlement of the Cambodian issue and initiated the Six-Party Talks for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Now, we are actively promoting political dialogue processes for hotspot issues from the Iranian nuclear issue, Ukraine, to the Middle East and South Sudan. And we get deeply involved in international cooperation in counter-terrorism, anti-drug trafficking, cyber security and climate change. China has contributed the biggest number of peacekeeping personnel among the permanent members of the UN Security Council. Even as we speak, over 3,000 Chinese peacekeepers are discharging their duties all over the world every day. We deployed a total of 59 vessels to the Gulf of Aden and the waters off the Somali coast in 20 missions to ensure safety of close to 6,000 Chinese and foreign ships. (mo