Liu Huaqiu "China Will Always Pursue a Peaceful Foreign Policy of Independence and Self-determination" 1 December1997

"China Will Always Pursue a Peaceful Foreign Policy of Independence and Self-determination"

by Liu Huaqiu,
Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs,
in Qiushi
1 December1997
(No 23, p 2-9)

In his 15th National Party Congress report, General Secretary Jiang Zemin reiterated that China must "unswervingly pursue a peaceful foreign policy of independence and self-determination," and he explained comprehensively and profoundly the ten general principles behind China's foreign relations work. It fully reflected the importance China attached to its peaceful foreign policy of independence and self-determination and its unwavering decision to abide by that policy.

The PRC has always pursued a peaceful foreign policy of independence and self-determination. This policy was guided by the basic Marxist-Leninist principles and Mao Zedong's thinking on foreign relations and was formulated and developed gradually amid China's diplomatic practices. Comrade Zhou Enlai, with his remarkable diplomatic talent and political wisdom, also made outstanding contributions of historical magnitude to the practice and development of China's peaceful foreign policy. Since entering the new historical era of constructing socialism with Chinese characteristics, Comrade Deng Xiaoping made use of dialectical thinking to observe the ever-changing international situation, looked keenly at the developments at home and abroad, and grasped the characteristics of the modern era to further develop and perfect this peaceful foreign policy of independence and self-determination while guiding China's diplomatic practices.

A country's foreign relations are guided by its foreign policy. The basic starting point in formulating a foreign policy is to protect the country's own interests, seek its own survival and development in the international community, and put itself in a favorable international position. China's peaceful foreign policy of independence and self-determination makes independence and self-determination as well as peace its purpose. Its basic goal is to resolutely defend the country's independence, security, and sovereignty; to protect world peace, and to strive to create a long-lasting, peaceful international environment and good surrounding environment for China's own socialist modernization. The main content and basic principles of this policy are:

We insist on independence and having the initiative in our own hands:

In international affairs, we must insist on starting out from the basic interest of the Chinese people and the people of the world and rely on international laws and standards and the matters' own rights and wrongs to make our own judgment and decide our own stand and policy. We will never submit to the pressure of any superpower, nor will we forge an alliance with any superpower or bloc. We respect the rights of the people of all nations to take their own country's situation into consideration in choosing their own social systems, developmental strategies, and lifestyle, and we advocate that all countries allow their own people to be their own masters in deciding matters for themselves. International affairs should be negotiated and resolved by the countries as equals; no settlement should be forced by one on another.

We oppose hegemonism and safeguard world peace:

Hegemonism and power politics are the main threats to world peace and stability. We firmly oppose hegemonism and power politic in any form and any kind of aggressive and expansionary act. We firmly oppose the immoral acts of the large domineering the small, the strong bullying the weak, and the rich oppressing the poor. We firmly oppose any country using race, religion, human rights or other issues as excuse to violate another country's sovereignty and territorial integrity and interfere in another country's internal affairs. We advocate negotiations between countries as equals and peaceful resolution of all disputes.

We foster good neighbors and good friends:

China actively develops friendly relations with the surrounding countries, preserves regional peace and stability, and promotes regional economic cooperation. China advocates dialogues and negotiations with other countries as equals in dealing with the historical disputes over boundaries, territorial lands, and territorial seas and seeks fair and reasonable solutions. Disputes that cannot be settled immediately may be set aside temporarily as the parties seek common ground while reserving differences without letting those differences affect the normal relations between two countries.

We strengthen the unity and cooperation with the masses of third world countries:

China makes strengthening the unity and cooperation with the developing countries a basic foothold of its foreign policy. China supports the third world countries in developing their own national economies, seeks to improve the North-South relations and develop the South-South cooperation, and actively explores ways to forge economic, trade, and technological cooperations with other countries to supplement each other's strong points. In international and United Nations affairs, China has strengthened consultation and coordination with the masses of developing countries to work together to protect the rights and privileges of the developing countries, oppose hegemonism, and safeguard world peace and stability.

Based on the five principles of peaceful coexistence, China fosters and develops friendly and cooperative relations with all countries in the world. China does not determine the closeness of its relations with other countries based on social systems and ideological differences. We respect diversity in the world, strive to improve and develop normal relations and mutually beneficial cooperation with the developed countries, and actively seek the meeting point of common interests and insist on dialogue, not confrontation.

China participates in international cooperation:

As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, China actively supports the United Nations' and its Security Council's efforts in preserving peace and settling international disputes and takes an active part in the activities sponsored by the United Nations and its special organizations to facilitate world peace and development. China participates in all sorts of international and regional activities, engages in multilateral diplomacy, and strives to promote mutually beneficial cooperation among the nations in all areas, especially economics, trade, and technology. We work hard to promote the establishment of a new international order: China advocates the establishment of a new international political and economic order that is peaceful, stable, fair, and reasonable based on the five principles of peaceful coexistence. The core of this new order should be mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, and non-interference in each other's internal affairs. All nations large and small, strong and weak, rich and poor are independent and have the initiative in their own hands and should become equal members of the international community in participating in international affairs. This complies with the purpose and principles of the United Nations charter and also suits the trend of the times of peace and development.

We oppose the arms race and advocates arms reduction. China has always advocated the all-out ban and radical elimination of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and weapons of mass destruction. We do not advocate nor do we engage in the proliferation of nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons. China solemnly promises that it would not at any time, under any circumstance, be the first to use nuclear weapons, nor will it use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against a non-nuclear nation or region. We support the relevant countries' effort to set up peaceful, non-nuclear zones on a voluntary, consultative basis. China pursues a defensive national security strategy and has not built military bases abroad nor dispatched a single soldier overseas. China has always kept its military spending low and, on top of its reduction of military personnel by 1 million men in 1980, will further reduce its troop size by 500,000 men over the next three years. This should fully reflect our sincerity and determination in working for a peaceful cause.

China opens up comprehensively to the outside world:

To open up to the outside world and actively develop foreign economic relations are China's basic national policy. In our international economic relations, we have actively engaged in exchange and cooperation on the basis of equality and mutual benefit with other countries to learn from each other's strong points and offset one another's weaknesses and help supply each other's needs. China's policy of opening up is geared toward the whole world; it opens up to the developed as well as the developing countries.

China encourages friendly exchanges between the people of all nations.

Fostering friendly economic and cultural relations between the people of China and the people of all countries is an important component of China's foreign relations. The Chinese government encourages and supports all mass organizations, civilian groups, and people from all walks of life in their exchange and cooperation in all areas. The CPC abides by the principle of "independence and self-determination, complete equality, mutual respect, and mutual non-intervention in each other's internal affairs" to foster modern inter-party exchange and cooperative relations with the political parties of all countries to promote the development of national relations. The civilian and inter-party exchanges between countries can facilitate the development of friendship and increase understanding of one another and is an important way to safeguard world peace and promote development for all.

II.

Insisting on independence and self-determination and preserving world peace have been at the heart of China's foreign policy and an integral part of the foreign policy stipulations in China's constitutions. In September 1949, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference ratified the "Common Program" which clearly stated that "the principle of the PRC's foreign policy is to safeguard the country's independence, freedom, and territorial integrity; to support lasting international peace and the friendly cooperation among the people of all nations, and to oppose the policies of aggression and war of imperialism."

The PRC constitution in 1954 affirmed the above stipulations in the "Common Program" and proclaimed to the whole world that "in international affairs, China's firm and consistent guiding principle is to strive for the noble cause of world peace and the progress of humanity." The 1982 constitution summed everything up even better: In the preambles, it said, "China adheres to an independent foreign policy as well as the five principles of mutual respect for each other's sovereign rights and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, mutual non-intervention in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence in developing diplomatic relations and economic and cultural exchanges with other countries. China firmly opposes imperialism, hegemonism, and colonialism and works to strengthen unity with the people of other countries; supports the oppressed nations and the developing countries in their just struggles to win and preserve their national independence and develop their national economies, and strives to safeguard world peace and promote the cause of human progress."

Independence and self-determination are expressions of a country's sovereignty. It means a country has the right to follow its own will and abide by its laws to decide for itself how to deal with its internal affairs without any form of outside interference. To insist on independence and self-determination is to insist on the socialist road and the foreign and domestic policies the people of China have chosen for themselves based on their own interests and national situation; it is to insist on resolving our internal affairs and following our own path; interference, violation, or domination by any outside force will not be tolerated.

After the Opium War, because of the oppression of feudalism and the aggression of imperialism, China was slowly reduced to a semi-colonial, semi-feudalistic state. From the Qing Dynasty and the Northern Warlords to the KMT, generations of reactionary ruling class marked by corruption and incompetence humiliated the nation and forfeited its sovereignty and forced the country to accept a series of unequal treaties that destroyed its sacred sovereignty. The CPC that makes the interests of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation its greatest interest has made the country's independence and the nation's liberation the goal of its struggles since the first day of its founding and has clearly stated that China's foreign relations take a firm position on opposing imperialist aggression and preserving independence and the right of self-determination.

The principle of independence and self-determination not only is the basic guiding principle of China's revolution and construction but is also the basic starting point of China's foreign policy. On the eve of the founding of the PRC, Comrade Mao Zedong solemnly announced that "China must be independent, China must be liberated, and China's affairs must be handled by the Chinese people in their own way. China will not allow any imperialist country to ever again interfere in any way." Comrade Zhou Enlai also pointed out that "China has a basic stand on foreign relations matters, and that is the PRC's independence; it is the stand of independence, self-determination, and self-reliance." He said, "To protect the hard-won national independence, to be politically independent by repulsing all foreign interferences, and to be economically independence by refusing all foreign aid-- these are the starting point in deciding our foreign policy and handling foreign relations matters and are also the basic differences between our's and old China's humiliating foreign relations."

Safeguarding world peace and opposing aggression and war similarly are basic principles behind China's foreign diplomacy. Comrade Mao Zedong once solemnly proclaimed that we are Marxists and our country is a socialist country, not a capitalist country. Therefore, for a hundred years, for ten thousand years, China will never invade another country. He also repeatedly proclaimed to the world that China will never seek hegemony, and not only will it not seek hegemony today, it will not seek hegemony in the future when it is rich and strong. Comrade Zhou Enlai also pointed out repeatedly that preserving world peace is China's basic foreign policy. To change China's impoverished and backward outlook, we must work hard for several more decades, and therefore we need peace; the longer we have peace the better it will be for the people. This has decided that all our international activities must be for the purpose of promoting peace; there can be no other guiding principle. Since the founding of New China, the Chinese government has consistently strived to safeguard world peace. It has always treated all countries large and small as equals, has consistently supported the oppressed countries and people in their opposition to foreign invasion and interferences and the protection of their own country's national independence and sovereignty, and has firmly opposed any country's use of any excuse to interfere in another country's internal affairs and violate another country's sovereign rights. China has always advocated that international disputes be settled by peaceful negotiations. Taking into consideration the post-war upsurge of national liberation movements, the emergence of many newly independent states in the world political arena, and the profound changes in the international situation that became the backdrop of the times, Comrade Zhou Enlai summed up New China's foreign relations practices and creatively came up with the renowned five principles of peaceful coexistence as the basic standard for the proper handling of national relations. This not only further developed our foreign policy of independence and self-determination but also made an important contribution to the international effort for world peace.

In the early days after the founding of the country, to combat the United States' hostility, isolation, and blockade, China entered into alliance with the Soviet Union; it was a "lopsided" strategy, but it was necessary back then. But even when adopting this "lopsided" strategy, China still resolutely insisted on protecting its own independence and sovereignty and was constantly on guard against, and firmly resisted, the Soviet Union's great-nation chauvinism in all its manifestations. Just as Comrade Zhou Enlai pointed out, to combat the United States' threats against us, it was necessary to forge an alliance with the Soviet Union, but "in doing so, we must not sacrifice our own party's and country's independence" and "strategically, we were allies, but tactically, there must be criticisms." The Soviet Union later pursued great-nation chauvinism and attempted to force China into submitting to their strategic needs and demanded to build in Chinese territories a long-wave radio station and a joint naval force that in reality were under Soviet control, and in doing so, revealed their intention to control China militarily. Comrade Mao Zedong flatly refused the Soviet's unreasonable demands and sternly pointed out that even the slightest violation of Chinese sovereignty would not be tolerated. In order to force us into submission, the Soviet Union resorted to recalling their experts and tearing up the economic contracts; they put pressure on us and even deployed a million troops along the Chinese-Soviet and Chinese-Mongolian borders, threatening China's security. Despite our country's dire straits, for the sake of defending the country's sovereignty and honor, we did not submit to Soviet pressure but engaged in a firm struggle against hegemonism.

By the 1970's, because the United States was weakened by the Vietnam War, the Soviet Union again seize the opportunity to indulge in wanton expansion that seriously threatened world peace and China's security. Comrade Mao Zedong judged the hour and sized up the situation and decisively opened the door to Sino-US relations and proposed a "continuous line" strategy that stretched from Japan to Europe and the United States to counter the Soviet's hegemonist challenge. The "continuous line" strategy was proposed in the mid 1970's and continued into the early 1980's. It played an important role in easing the tense security situation China was facing at that time, helping China to end the situation of constantly being threatened front and rear, and curtailing the Soviet Union's hegemonist expansion.

Yet, drawing the line with strategic relations has its inherent flaws. Whether it was the "lopsided" strategy or the "continuous line" strategy, to various extents they affected China's normal relations with some countries, causing us to lose the necessary flexibility and initiative in our diplomatic activities. This kind of strategic relations sometimes can be used by hegemonism. Someone tried to use us as stepping stone to access Moscow and to enable one party to play the "China card" against another. Of course, these problems always go through their own process and should be looked at from the viewpoint of historical materialism.

III.

After the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Party Central Committee, China began to enter the new historical era of constructing socialism with Chinese characteristics. By then the international situation has changed dramatically. For the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, one was weakened while the other was toppled by the arms race and the cold war confrontation. A multipolar world has become the growing trend, and China has developed into a main force independent of the United States and the Soviet Union. The people of the world and the peace-loving countries all yearn for peace and stability, and the force of peace was gaining faster than the force of war. On the other hand, the unequal and unreasonable international economic order created by history was threatening the interests of the developing countries; the gap between the north and the south widened, and the countries all wanted to develop their own economies, strengthen their comprehensive national strength, and increase their international competitiveness. In particular, in the wake of the rapid development of the world technological revolution, the role of economics and technology has become increasingly prominent in world competition and more important in international relations. Every country strived for an international environment that best suited its own economic development, and the overall international situation became less tense.

Comrade Deng Xiaoping used dialect materialist and historical materialist viewpoints to coolly observe and scientifically analyze the question of war and peace in a down to earth manner and changed the original view that, "like the swallow swooping down and the wind sweeping through the tower that herald a rising storm in the mountain," war was inevitable and imminent. Instead, he proposed a new scientific theory that another world war could be avoided and that peace and development were the two main themes of the modern world. Based on this conclusion, Comrade Deng Xiaoping made an important decision to focus all energy on the country's socialist modernization. Foreign diplomacy is an extension of domestic policies, and the shift in work focus at home and the establishment of the guiding principle of reform and opening up would necessarily be reflected in our foreign relations. Comrade Deng Xiaoping continued to make a series of major readjustments of China's foreign policy based on the changing situations at home and abroad:

First, we took an even more clear stand on independence and self-determination and truly adopted a nonalignment policy. At the 12th National Party Congress in September 1982, Comrade Deng Xiaoping solemnly declared that " China's affairs will be handled according to China's own situation, relying on the Chinese people's own strength. Independence and self-determination and self-reliance were, are, and will always be our foothold. The Chinese people value the friendship and cooperation with other countries and their people and treasure even more their independence and right of self-determination which they struggled long and hard for. No foreign country should count on China's becoming their vassal, nor should they expect China to swallow the bitter fruit that infringe on its interests." With this spirit, China changed its "continuous line" strategy and refused to enter into alliances or forge any kind of strategic relation with any major power. On any international issue, it would start out from the basic interests of the Chinese people and the people of the world and would decide its own stand and attitude independently and with the initiative in its own hands based on the matter's own merit or demerit. Just as Comrade Deng Xiaoping pointed out, " China's foreign policy is independent and self-determined; it is truly nonaligned. China does not play the American card, nor the Soviet Card, and China will not allow anybody to play the China card." He said, "We abide by a peaceful foreign policy of independence and self-determination and refuse to join any group. We associate with everybody and make friends with everybody. We oppose those who seek hegemonism and those who invade another. We say and do what is fair." Practice proved that pursuing the nonalignment strategy not only helped to safeguard China's independence and self-determination but also promoted a multipolar world, maintained balance of the world's strategic power, promoted world peace and stability, and also helped to enhance China's international status and role.

Second, we made even more clear our "policy of peace" in our foreign relations. Comrade Deng Xiaoping repeatedly emphasized that the achievement of the "four modernizations" depended on two conditions: one was domestic conditions and the other was international conditions-- that is, a sustained international peaceful environment. He said that we cannot have construction without a peaceful environment; we can develop only in a peaceful environment, and if we want a lasting peaceful environment, we must cooperate with all the peaceful forces in the world. Therefore, he proposed making opposition to hegemonism, preservation of world peace, and promotion of human progress the basic goals of China's foreign policy and striving for peace its primary task. Thus, Comrade Deng Xiaoping took the changing situations at home and abroad into consideration to accentuate the principle of peace in China's foreign policy and unified the principle of independence and self-determination and the principle of peaceful diplomacy.

Third, we emphasized that socialist China belonged to the third world, and China would always stand on the side of the third world. In 1974, at the Sixth Special Session of the United Nations, Comrade Deng Xiaoping systematically expounded on Comrade Mao Zedong's theory of the three worlds and solemnly declared that China was a socialist country and was also a developing country, and that China belonged to the third world. In the 1980's, he again pointed out that China would always belong to the third world. He said that China belonged to the third world today and would belong to the third world in the future when it was rich and strong. Comrade Deng Xiaoping greatly emphasized the important role the third world played on the issue of peace and development. He advanced the idea that the "development issue is a north-south issue" and the "north-south issue is the central issue" and emphasized that the issue should be addressed from the high point of human development. He resolutely supported the third world countries' effort to reinforce their independence and develop their national economies, actively championed the South-South cooperation, promoted the North-South dialogue, and promoted mutual development. Guided by Comrade Deng Xiaoping's foreign relations thinking, we consistently made strengthening the unity and cooperation with the developing countries the basic foothold of our foreign relations work, so that our friendly, mutually beneficial, and cooperative relations with the Asian, African, and Latin American countries were able to reach new heights.

Fourth, we advanced the correct idea of not drawing the line on national relations based on social systems and ideologies. Comrade Deng Xiaoping summed up and learned from the lessons and experiences at home and abroad to advance the idea that differences in social systems and ideologies should not be the obstacle to the development of relations between countries and reiterated that the five principles of peaceful coexistence are the norm that guides international relations, and in turn he rectified the erroneous tendencies to "draw the line with the Soviet" or "draw the line with the United States." This created the favorable condition for China to develop friendly, cooperative relations with all countries in the world.

Fifth, we correctly handled the relationship between independence and self-determination and the policy of opening up to the outside world. Comrade Deng Xiaoping pointed out that "independence and self-determination do not mean closing ourselves off from the outside world, and self-reliance does not mean blind opposition to everything foreign. Science and technology are wealth created by mankind. Every nation, every country must learn from the strong points of another nation, another country and study their advanced science and technology." He said, "In summing up our historical experiences, we find that one of the main reasons for China's chronic stagnant and backward situation is its practice of closing itself off from all international intercourse. Experiences showed that our construction cannot succeed if we close our doors. China cannot develop by shutting itself off from the rest of the world. Of course, a large country like China cannot but rely on itself for construction; it must mainly rely on itself. This is called self-reliance. But while insisting on being self-reliant, it must still open up to the outside world and absorb foreign capital and technologies to help it develop." When opening up to the outside world, we must always put safeguarding the country's independence and self-determination and its sovereign rights first. We must remain sober-minded, and on the one hand, we must not embrace everything Western and copy everything the West does and what the other countries do, and on the other hand, we must resolutely resist the corrosion of corrupt ideas from the outside and never allow the spread of corrupt bourgeois lifestyle in China.

Six, we used the idea of "one country, two systems" to resolve the Hong Kong and Macao issues. This idea was first conceived to resolve the Taiwan issue but was put to use to resolve the Hong Kong issue first. In early 1979, during Comrade Deng Xiaoping's visit to the United States, he said that if the Taiwan authorities would accept the guiding principle of peaceful unification with the motherland, Taiwan would be permitted to practise the capitalist system within a unified PRC. He said, "We will respect their real and existing system." The Hong Kong and Macao issues were the product of imperialist invasion of China, and we refused to recognize the unfair treaties forced upon China by imperialism, and China has always wanted to resolve this historical issue peacefully through negotiations at the proper time. As conditions for resolving the Hong Kong and Macao issues ripened, Comrade Deng Xiaoping started out from practicality and gave full consideration to Hong Kong's and Macao's historical background and reality and applied the grand scheme of "one country, two systems" to formulate the general and specific policies for resolving those issues. Through negotiations, China reached separate agreements with Great Britain and Portugal, and it was decided that the PRC would resume its sovereignty in Hong Kong on 1 July 1997 and in Macao on 20 December 1999. The successful experience of using the idea of "one country, two systems" to resolve the Hong Kong issue not only has created favorable conditions for resolving the Taiwan issue, it has also given us realistic and practical experience, and at the same time, it has set an example of successful use of peaceful means for countries to resolve problems left behind by history.

Lastly, we advanced a strategic guiding principle of making cool-headed observations, planting a firm foothold, meeting the attacks calmly, and doing something worthwhile. Prior to and in the early 1990's, there were dramatic changes in the international arena; world socialism was met with serious setbacks, and the bipolar setup collapsed as the various forces divided and recombined. The world entered a volatile period as a new order replaced the old. China was threatened as the Western countries joined together to exert pressure and impose sanctions. Comrade Deng Xiaoping looked over the whole situation and promptly advanced the strategic guiding principle of making cool-headed observations, planting a firm foothold, meeting the attacks calmly, and doing something worthwhile to deal with the situation. He pointed out that regardless of the changes in the international situation, we must plant our foothold on the five principles of peaceful coexistence and remain at ease to develop friendly relations with all countries. He said that we must always be on guard but we must fear nobody nor offend anybody; we must make friends but know who our friends are. He said that we should hide our capacity and bide our time, quietly immerse ourselves in work, wave no loud banner and champion no cause, and say nothing that is exaggerated, and do nothing that is excessive. He urged us to "sit tight on Diaoyutai" and truly put a firm grip on economic construction without delay. He said that China is not without an important role in the international arena; it can and should attempt and accomplish something worthwhile.

Each historical period has some basic characteristics that are different from past periods. These characteristics reflect the major changes in the objective historical environment. Only by analyzing and grasping these basic characteristics scientifically and in a down to earth manner can a country formulate its international strategy and foreign policy accurately. Only if a country's international strategy and foreign policy conform to the trend of the times and meet the needs of the era can they play a proper role. In the process of guiding the foreign relations work of the new era, Comrade Deng Xiaoping firmly grasped the characteristics of the times to establish a socialist diplomatic thinking with Chinese characteristics, opening up a new situation for China's foreign relations work. Deng Xiaoping's diplomatic thinking was an important part of his theory of constructing socialism with Chinese characteristics and was also a creative development of the Mao Zedong's and Zhou Enlai's peaceful foreign policy of independence and self-determination.

In the last 20 years, despite the changing international situation, we continued to abide by Deng Xiaoping's diplomatic thinking and firmly and unswervingly implemented the peaceful foreign policy of independence and self-determination, and China's foreign relations work has been a great success admired worldwide. We withstood the shock of the dramatic changes in East Europe and the collapse of the Soviet Union and the heavy pressure and sanctions from some Western countries. Faced with attempts to violate China's sovereign rights and interfere in its internal affairs, we engaged in resolute struggles and successfully defended the country's sovereignty and national honor. We successfully resumed the exercise of sovereign rights in Hong Kong and made great strides in the great cause of peaceful unification of the motherland. We actively pursued good neighborly and friendly relations, improved and developed our friendly and cooperative relations with the surrounding countries, and maintained peace and stability in the peripheral environment. We further reinforced and strengthened the unity and cooperation with the masses of developing countries. Based on the five principles of peaceful coexistence, we set up and further developed our relations with Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States and readjusted and improved our relations with the countries of the West. We continued to expand our economic, trade, and technological exchanges and cooperation and increase our cultural exchanges and other contacts with the other countries, which created a good international environment for the successful progress of our reform and opening up and modernization. We participated in many international and regional multilateral diplomatic activities, played an unique role, promoted the development of the trend toward a multipolar world, and made important contributions toward the preservation of world peace and development. The international status of socialist China has strengthened; its reputation has grown, and its influence has expanded. China will develop into an important pole in the future multipolar world.

IV.

Pursuing a peaceful foreign policy of independence and self-determination is dictated by China's national nature, social system, and historical encounters as well as the times and the country's realistic missions.

It is the nature of socialism to advocate peace. A socialist country's implementation of a peaceful foreign policy is an essential attribute decided by its national nature. In exposing the real nature of the capitalist countries' foreign policies, Marx and Engels also expounded on the foreign policy principle the proletariat should follow in the future. Marx said that after the working class seized power, the countries should abide by the principle of peace. Marx and Engels believed that "a nation that oppresses another will never be liberated" and that "as long as a nation is oppressing another, it will never be free." The proletariat diplomatic principle advanced by Marx and Engels is the theoretical base on which a socialist country formulates its foreign policy and the theoretical base that guides its diplomatic practices.

China is a socialist country that abides by the basic principles of Marxism, Leninism, and Mao Zedong thought. This predetermines China's peaceful foreign policy. China's socialist system itself is also tightly bind to the preservation of all mankind's basic interests, and therefore, the establishment of the socialist system in China not only eliminates the social root source of our submission to foreign aggression and enslavement, it also eliminates the social root source of our invasion of another country. As the basic guiding principle of China's foreign policy, the peaceful diplomatic thinking of independence and self-determination has been included in the country's constitution. Generations of CPC leaders have consistently advocated the peaceful foreign policy. Just as Comrade Deng Xiaoping pointed out, "Not only I, but other Chinese leaders, including the late Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai, have repeatedly proclaimed that above all China wants peace." As the core of the CPC's second generation leading group and the chief designer of China's foreign policy in the new era, Comrade Deng Xiaoping repeatedly emphasized that the goal of China's foreign policy is to strive for world peace, to devote ourselves wholeheartedly to modernization in a peaceful environment, to develop our own country, and to construct socialism with Chinese characteristics. What we are constructing is socialism with Chinese characteristics, socialism that constantly develops the productive forces, and socialism that advocates peace. When we advocate preserving world peace, it is not an empty promise; rather, it is based on our own needs, and of course, it is also what the people of the world, especially the people of the third world, need. Comrade Deng Xiaoping declared in earnest to the whole world that China is the deciding force in safeguarding world peace. The third generation party Central Committee leading group, with Comrade Jiang Zemin at the core, firmly and unswervingly implemented the peaceful foreign policy of independence and self-determination established by the first and second generation leading groups. At the 14th National Party Congress, Comrade Jiang Zemin announced that "safeguarding China's independence and sovereignty right and promoting world peace and development are the basic goals of China's foreign policy. On issues that involve national interests and the country's sovereignty, we will never submit to outside pressure in any form."

The Chinese nation is a great nation. In its history that spanned several thousand years, it has created a magnificent culture and has made wonderful contributions to the advancement of civilization and to scientific and cultural development. Yet, in the modern era, because of the reactionary rule of feudalism and the invasion and plundering of imperialist powers, China's development was obstructed and ruined; the Chinese people were rendered poverty stricken, and at one time, we were even called the "sick men of East Asia". For more than half a century, many men with lofty ideals sacrificed all for the sake of liberating and vitalizing the Chinese nation-- they broke through brambles and thorns, and no sooner had one fallen than another stepped into the breach. Today, the much tormented Chinese nation can finally welcome an opportunity to develop. We urgently need to rouse ourselves for vigorous efforts to make the country prosperous and strong in an environment without foreign interferences, so as to turn China into a rich and strong, democratic and civilized socialist country and strive to make even greater contributions to the advancement of mankind.

The Chinese people are a peace-loving people. The Chinese people have struggled long and hard to win and protect the country's independence and right of self-determination. The Chinese people deeply understand that without national independence, there cannot be democratic rights for the people, nor can they make the country rich and strong. The Chinese people also deeply understand that their fate is closely tied to that of the people of the world and their basic interests are intertwined with that of the people of the world. The Chinese people who were victims to imperialist aggression and enslavement treasure their hard-won independence and right of self-determination and always advocate respect for other countries' independence and self-determination. The Chinese people will never want to go back to the humiliating situation, nor do they want to see other nations put into the humiliating situation, China found itself in at one time. Safeguarding world peace and promoting development for all are the demands of the times. Today, whether it is a developing country or a developed country, everybody is seeking comprehensive economic, cultural, and scientific and technological developments. To develop, we must have a peaceful international environment. Peace and development are intertwined and interactive. Without peace, there can be no development, and without world economic prosperity, especially development of the masses of developing countries, peace cannot be sustained. Therefore, peace and development are what people of the whole world want; this is the historical trend of our time that cannot be defied. China is the world's largest developing country and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, and safeguarding world peace and promoting human development are responsibilities we cannot shirk. The peaceful foreign policy of independence and self-determination China pursues benefits the noble cause of peace and development for mankind; it not only serves our own national interests but also the interests of the people of the world and the trend of the times.

History has proved positive that New China has never yielded to foreign pressure. Despite the ever-changing international environment and the revisions in our diplomatic strategies, China has always abided by the line and the norm of the peaceful foreign policy of independence and self-determination in forging foreign relations.

History has also proved positive that China's peaceful foreign policy of independence and self-determination suits the country's situation and conforms to the trend of historical development and has withstood the tests of reality and has strong vitality. China's peaceful foreign policy represents the basic interests of the people of China and the people of the world and is understood, and widely applauded, by more and more countries and peoples of the world.

History has further proved positive that Marxism must be further developed, Mao Zedong thought must be further developed, Deng Xiaoping theory must be further developed, and China's peaceful foreign policy of independence and self-determination must also be continuously developed. The objective world is constantly developing and changing, and in the process, our understanding of the objective world must also continuously develop. Only if we continuously develop and improve the peaceful foreign policy of independence and self-determination in practice according to the developments and changes in the international situation can we truly and steadfastly maintain the peaceful foreign policy of independence and self-determination.

Today, at the threshold of a new century, as the seas change into mulberry fields and mulberry fields into seas-- as time brings great changes to the world, international relations have become very complicated. The world needs peace; countries need stability; economies need to be development; mankind needs progress, and these have become the main theme of the world today. But hegemonism and power politics have not disappeared, and incidents of countries using all kinds of excuses to violate the sovereign rights of another country or interfere in another country's internal affairs still occur; cold war mentality still lingers like a ghostly spirit, and the trend toward strengthening and even expanding the original military blocs and military alliances continues to grow; there are intermittent armed confrontations and even regional wars caused by racial, religious, and territorial disputes; the unfair and unreasonable international political and economic orders have not changed, and the gap between the rich and the poor has further widened. World peace and development are being threatened and challenged. On the road ahead, China will encounter rare opportunities but also grim challenges. China has a huge population and a weak base, and compared to the developed countries, we are behind in science and technology and are economically weak, and faced with the increasingly intense international competition, the task of development is still very difficult, and there will be continuous arduous struggles. China's diplomatic work similarly faces many new situations, new contradictions, and new problems that require careful studies and proper solutions. In recent year, faced with the complicated and changing international situation, the third generation leading group, with Comrade Jiang Zemin at the core, has adhered to Comrade Deng Xiaoping's diplomatic thinking, promptly devised strategies as situations called for, adroitly guided action according to circumstances, explored and advanced, and it has displayed exceptional ability to master the complicated diplomatic and international affairs. Henceforth, no matter how the international situation may change, under the leadership of the Party Central Committee, with Comrade Jiang Zemin at the core, we will continue to steadfastly pursue the peaceful foreign policy of independence and self-determination and will take into consideration the changing objective situations to continuously enrich and develop this foreign policy, striving to create a long-lasting peaceful international environment and good peripheral environment for the sake of the lofty cause of China's own socialist modernization and world peace and development.

This material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2007 by MIIS.