China says BRICS has remained true to its goals
Minister of China read Xi Jin Ping's speech at the 15th meeting of the Brics Summit Business Forum Leaders. teleSUR
Transcript
00:00 Thank you, Minister Patel.
00:09 It is my great honor to read out the remarks on behalf of His Excellency Xi Jinping, President
00:14 of the People's Republic of China, at the closing ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum
00:20 2023.
00:21 Your Excellency President Matemala Siruramaphosa, members of the business community, ladies
00:27 and gentlemen, friends, I wish to extend my warm congratulations on the success of the
00:33 BRICS Business Forum in South Africa.
00:35 Ten years ago here in South Africa, we BRICS leaders witnessed the birth of the BRICS Business
00:42 Council.
00:46 Since then, the Council has stayed true to its founding mission.
00:52 It has seized opportunities to deepen cooperation, contributing to economic and social development
00:58 of BRICS countries, and helping sustain global economic growth.
01:06 Right now, changes in the world, in our times, and in history are unfolding in ways like
01:16 never before, bringing human society to a critical juncture.
01:27 Should we pursue cooperation and integration, or just succumb to division and confrontation?
01:33 Should we work together to maintain peace and stability, or just sleepwalk into the
01:38 abyss of a new Cold War?
01:40 Should we embrace prosperity, openness, and inclusiveness, or allow hegemonic and bullying
01:48 acts to throw us into a depression?
01:51 Should we deepen mutual trust through exchanges and mutual learning, or allow hubris and prejudice
01:58 to blind conscience?
02:01 The course of history will be shaped by the choices we make.
02:08 An ancient Chinese thinker observed that following the underlying trend will lead one to success,
02:13 while going against it can only cause one to fail.
02:17 We humankind have achieved notable economic development and social progress over the past
02:22 decades, and that is because we have drawn lessons from the two world wars and the Cold
02:27 War, followed the historical trend of economic globalization, and embarked on the right path
02:34 of openness and development for win-win cooperation.
02:38 Our world today has become a community with a shared future, in which we all share a huge
02:43 stake of survival.
02:45 What people in various countries long for is definitely not a new Cold War or a small
02:50 exclusive bloc.
02:52 What they want is an open, inclusive, clean, and beautiful world that enjoys enduring peace,
02:59 universal security, and common prosperity.
03:02 Such is the logic of historical advance and the trend of our times.
03:07 Ten years ago, I made a proposition of building a community with a shared future for mankind,
03:13 calling on all countries to build this planet we all call home into a harmonious family.
03:18 In the face of high winds, choppy waters, and even treacherous storms, we in all countries
03:24 need to uphold the correct views of the world, of history, and of our overall interests,
03:29 and act to translate the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind into reality.
03:36 We need to promote development and prosperity for all.
03:39 Many emerging markets and developing countries have come to what they are today after shaking
03:44 off the yoke of colonialism.
03:47 With perseverance, hard work, and huge sacrifices, we succeeded in gaining independence and have
03:55 been exploring a development path suited to our national conditions.
04:00 Everything we do is to deliver better lives to our people.
04:05 But some country, obsessed with maintaining its hegemony, has gone out of its way to cripple
04:13 the emerging markets and developing countries.
04:16 Whoever is developing fast becomes its target of containment.
04:20 Whoever is catching up becomes its target of obstruction.
04:23 But this is futile.
04:25 As I have said more than once, the blowing out others' lamp will not bring light to oneself.
04:34 Every country has the right to development, and the people in every country have the freedom
04:38 to pursue a happy life.
04:40 With that in mind, I have proposed the Global Development Initiative with the goal of promoting
04:45 development for all by the international community and boosting the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
04:51 Development.
04:52 With the support of many countries, solid gains have been made in pursuing this initiative,
04:58 with cooperation flourishing in various fields.
05:01 China will work with all other countries to speed up cooperation under the Global Development
05:05 Initiative, strengthen drivers of global development, promote the reform of the World Trade Organization
05:11 in a comprehensive and in-depth manner, meet common challenges together, and make life
05:16 better for people across the world.
05:18 We need to achieve universal security.
05:21 Recent years have seen a turbulent world.
05:24 Many countries and regions are plagued by wars and conflicts, and many people are displaced.
05:30 Members of the international community share the pressing hope to eradicate the root cause
05:35 of conflicts and wars and find a fundamental way to realize enduring peace and security
05:40 globally.
05:42 Facts have shown that any attempt to keep enlarging a military alliance, expand one's
05:46 own sphere of influence, and squeeze other countries' buffer of security can only create
05:52 security predicaments and insecurity for all countries.
05:57 Only a commitment to a new vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable
06:03 security can lead to universal security.
06:07 Last year, I put forward the Global Security Initiative, and it has gained support from
06:11 over 100 countries and international organizations.
06:15 China stands ready to jointly pursue this initiative with all others.
06:19 We should have dialogue and oppose confrontation, forge partnership but not alliance, and pursue
06:26 win-win outcome and oppose zero-sum game, and work together to build a community of
06:31 security.
06:33 We need to stay committed to exchanges among civilizations and mutual learning.
06:39 One flower alone cannot make a beautiful spring.
06:41 The blossoming of a rich variety of flowers can bring spring to the global garden.
06:47 Human civilization is colorful by nature.
06:50 It is precisely because of their differences in history, culture, and system that all countries
06:55 need to interact with each other, draw on each other, and advance together.
07:00 Deliberately creating division with the assertion of democracy versus authoritarianism and liberalism
07:05 versus autocracy can only split the world and lead to clash of civilizations.
07:13 I've put forward the Global Civilization Initiative, calling for promoting diversity of global
07:18 civilizations, the common values of humanity and people-to-people and cultural exchanges
07:24 and cooperation.
07:26 China welcomes all other countries to get involved in cooperation under this initiative.
07:31 We should encourage different civilizations to bring out their best and flourish together.
07:36 We should break barriers to exchanges and renew human civilization.
07:40 Ladies and gentlemen, friends, as an ancient Chinese philosopher observes, change is the
07:45 nature of the universe.
07:47 The collective rise of emerging markets and developing countries represented by BRICS
07:52 is fundamentally changing the global landscape.
07:59 Emerging markets and developing countries have contributed as high as 80% of global
08:06 growth in the past 20 years, and their share in the global GDP has increased from 24% 40
08:15 years ago to more than 40%.
08:17 Just as a line in a Chinese poem reads, "No mountains can stop the surging flow of a mighty
08:22 river."
08:23 Whatever resistance there may be, BRICS, a positive and stable force for good, will continue
08:30 to grow.
08:31 We will forge stronger BRICS strategic partnership, expand the BRICS+ model, actively advance
08:39 membership expansion, deepen solidarity and cooperation with other emerging markets and
08:46 developing countries, promote global multipolarity and greater democracy in international relations,
08:53 and help make the international order more just and equitable.
08:57 The gathering between BRICS countries and more than 50 other countries in South Africa
09:01 today is not an exercise of asking countries to take sides, nor an exercise of creating
09:09 block confrontation.
09:10 Rather, it is an endeavor to expand the architecture of peace and development.
09:16 I am glad to note that over 20 countries are knocking on the door of BRICS.
09:21 China hopes to see more joining the BRICS cooperation mechanism.
09:33 Ladies and gentlemen, friends, China stays committed to an independent foreign policy
09:40 of peace and the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
09:45 As a developing country and a member of the global South, China breathes the same breath
09:50 with other developing countries and pursues a shared future with them.
09:56 China has resolutely upheld the common interests of developing countries and worked to increase
10:01 the representation and voice of emerging markets and developing countries in global affairs.
10:07 Hegemonism is not in China's DNA, nor does China have any motivation to engage in major
10:13 power competitions.
10:15 China stands firmly on the right side of history and believes that a just cause should be pursued
10:21 for the common good.
10:23 At present, we Chinese, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, are advancing
10:28 the greater rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts by pursuing Chinese modernization.
10:34 Chinese modernization aims to achieve common prosperity, material and cultural ethical
10:38 advancement, harmony between humanity and nature, and peaceful development for a huge
10:44 population.
10:45 Chinese modernization has created a new form of human advancement and presented a new future
10:50 of modernization.
10:51 I hope that other developing countries can draw on the outstanding achievements of human
10:57 civilizations and find their own paths to modernization in keeping with their national
11:02 conditions.
11:03 Achieving high-quality development is a top priority in China's goal of fully building
11:09 itself into a modernized country.
11:11 We are committed to applying a new development philosophy and creating a new development
11:16 paradigm.
11:17 In the past decade, China has contributed more than 30 percent of annual global growth.
11:22 This year, the Chinese economy has maintained a momentum of recovery and growth.
11:27 China enjoys several distinct advantages, a socialist market economy in systemic terms,
11:34 a super-sized market in terms of demand, a full-fledged industrial system in terms of
11:39 supply, and abundant high-caliber labor force and entrepreneurs in terms of human resources.
11:47 The Chinese economy has strong resilience, tremendous potential, and great vitality.
11:53 The fundamentals sustaining China's long-term growth will remain unchanged.
11:57 The giant ship of the Chinese economy will continue to cleave waves and sail ahead.
12:01 China will remain an important opportunity for the world's development.
12:05 Our door is wide open to anyone who wants to engage in cooperation with us.
12:10 As a super-sized economy, China will remain firm in advancing high-standard opening-up.
12:15 We will continue to expand market access, cut a negative list for foreign investment,
12:19 and further open the modern services sector.
12:22 We will steadily improve the business environment, provide national treatment to foreign investment
12:27 enterprises, foster a world-class market-oriented business environment governed by a sound legal
12:32 framework, and build a globally-oriented network of high-standard free trade areas.
12:37 We will continue to advance ecological conservation, accelerate the building of a beautiful China,
12:43 actively and prudently move toward carbon peak and carbon neutrality, and pursue all-around
12:49 green transition in economic and social development.
12:52 Going forward, as it endeavors to achieve modernization for its more than 1.4 billion
12:58 people, China will surely contribute even more to the global economy and provide even
13:03 more opportunities for the global business community.
13:08 Ladies and gentlemen, friends, a formidable mission is a magnificent and glorious mission.
13:24 As long as we work in unity and strengthen cooperation, we will not be intimidated by
13:29 any risk or challenge on the way ahead, and we will surely steer the giant ship of human
13:34 development to a brighter future.
13:37 Thank you.
13:39 [Applause]