Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has clarified China's policies of continuing reform and opening-up and seeking peaceful and common development during his just-concluded visit to the UN headquarters, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said on Thursday.

During his 48-hour stay in New York, Wen attended the UN high-level meeting on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the 63rd annual general debate of the UN General Assembly.

Wen's visit was particularly significant in view of the increasingly complex international situation, the recent turbulence in the international economic and financial sectors, the sharp increases in oil prices and food supply shortage, and the whole world is keen to know in what direction China is heading after the Beijing Olympic Games, Yang told Xinhua.

During his visit, Wen declared China is determined to follow the path of peaceful development and stick to the policies of reform and opening-up, and an independent and peaceful foreign policy.

In terms of international relations, the premier said China is ready to develop friendly relations with all countries on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit.

Wen said China, as a responsible and major developing country, is ready to work with other members of the international community to contribute to global peace and development.

Wen also reiterated China's commitment to promoting the world’s common development. In this regard, he gave a comprehensive account of China's achievements in launching programs aimed at providing assistance to poor areas, and its contribution to global poverty reduction and South-South cooperation.

The Chinese premier put forward several proposals aimed at speeding up realization of the MDGs and called on countries around the world to pay more attention to the issue of poverty and to increase international aid.

Wen also unveiled six initiatives adopted by the Chinese government in its mission to assist developing nations, including setting up a development fund under the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), helping to train agricultural technicians, increasing agricultural exports, writing off debts and tariff, as well as offering assistance in the construction of clean energy projects.

Referring to the U.S. financial turmoil, Wen said China was confident of coping with the negative impact of the current crisis.

Confidence-building is even more important than gold and currency in the face of financial crisis, he pointed out.

China will strive to maintain the stability of its macro-economy, financial and capital markets, which is vital for the stability of the global economy, he said.

Wen also expressed China's willingness to cooperate with the United States in addressing the crisis, while calling on the international community to show solidarity and make joint efforts in maintaining the stability of the financial market.

Wen's opinions were echoed by the participants at the meeting, who agreed that China was an important player in stabilizing the world economy and financial system.

Talking about the recent tainted milk formula scandal in China, which has drawn world attention to food safety in the country, Wen stressed that the Chinese government attaches great importance to food safety and has adopted effective measures to ensure product quality and food safety.

He said China will never try to pursue corporate profit or economic growth at the expense of people's health and lives.

Wen noted that China's exports will not only meet international standards, but also meet the specific requirements of the importing countries.

China is willing to step up cooperation with the Unites States and other nations to ensure food safety, he added.

On China-U.S. relations, Wen said the two countries share broad common interests and that China and the United States are not rivals but partners in cooperation.

Wen called on both sides to enhance dialogue and communication, deepen mutual trust and cooperation, and efficiently handle sensitive issues such as the Taiwan issue, in order to ensure a healthy and stable development of bilateral relations.

This is in accordance with the fundamental interests of the two peoples and is conducive to world peace, stability and development, and also conforms to the trend of history, Wen said.

He said the Chinese government has always attached importance to china-U.S. relations and will go all out to maintain and develop the constructive and cooperative bilateral relations, irrespective of which party comes to power in Washington.

During his stay in New York, the Chinese premier also met with representatives of overseas Chinese associations and the heads of local Chinese-language media.

(Xinhua News Agency September 26, 2008)