In a signed article published by the People's Daily on February 27, Chinese
Premier Wen Jiabao said that China would advocate peace, development and
cooperation, and always pursue an independent foreign policy of peace.
The article, titled "Our Historical Tasks at the Primary Stage of Socialism
and Several Issues Concerning China's Foreign Policy", said that China is at the
primary stage of socialism now, and will remain so for a long time to come.
The Chinese premier said that to build a country of more than one
billion people into a prosperous, strong, democratic, civilized and harmonious
modern socialist country is an unprecedented endeavor in human history.
Wen said that after the founding of New China in 1949, great achievements
were made in China's development. However, China missed a major development
opportunity because of some big policy mistakes, and particularly the disastrous
10-year-long "Cultural Revolution".
"Opportunity is rare," Wen said. "In the past 28 years of reform and
opening-up, China's economy has maintained fast and sustainable growth. This is
a miracle. Will China have another period of opportunity in the future? My
answer is yes. How long will it last? This will depend on what domestic and
foreign policies we follow and on our ability to respond to new developments."
He said that China should take its own path in enhancing democracy. "We never
view socialism and democracy as something that is mutually exclusive. As a
matter of fact, we see a high degree of democracy and well developed legal
system as the inherent requirement of socialism and a key important feature of a
mature socialist system."
"We are fully capable of building China into a country of democracy and rule
of law under socialist conditions," said Wen.
Writing about China's foreign policies, the premier said China would advocate
peace, development and cooperation and pursue an independent foreign policy of
peace.
"China works to uphold its independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial
integrity, makes judgment independently on the merit of each international issue
and takes position accordingly. It does not use ideology and social system as a
criterion in conducting diplomacy, nor does it impose its values on others."
Following is the English translation of Wen Jiabao's article.
Our Historical Tasks at the Primary Stage
of Socialism and
Several Issues Concerning China's Foreign
Policy
Wen Jiabao
I. Our Historical Tasks at the Primary Stage of
Socialism
A keen appreciation of China's national conditions and its historical stage
is the basis for our Party to put forward theories in a scientific way and adopt
correct principles and policies. It is also a key prerequisite for ensuring the
success of all our endeavors.
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China is at the primary stage of socialism,
and will remain so for a long time to come. The primary stage means a stage of
underdevelopment, which manifests itself, first and foremost, in the low level
of the productive forces. Therefore, we must unswervingly take economic
development as the central task and go all out to boost the productive forces.
However, when we talk about the primary stage, we should not just think about
the underdeveloped productive forces. We should also recognize that the
socialist system still has room for improvement and that it is not yet a mature
one. Comrade Deng Xiaoping pointed out that in essence, socialism is about
liberating and developing the productive forces, eliminating exploitation and
polarization, and ultimately, it is about achieving prosperity for all. This
means that in consolidating and developing socialism, we must be clear about and
focus on two major tasks: one is to liberate and develop the productive forces
to vastly increase the material wealth of the whole society, and the other is to
achieve social fairness and justice, fire the creativity of the whole nation and
promote social harmony. The two tasks are interconnected and reinforce each
other. As a holistic endeavor, they should be pursued throughout the historical
course of all the development stages of socialism. Without the sustained and
full development of productive forces, it will be impossible to achieve social
fairness and justice, an essential requirement of socialism. Without gradual
progress in social fairness and justice along with the growth of productive
forces, it will be impossible to give full play to the initiative and creativity
of all the people and ensure sustained and full development of productive
forces. In implementing Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of "Three
Represents", following the scientific thinking on development and building a
socialist harmonious society, it is critical that we have a full and scientific
understanding of the essence of socialism.
When China began to build socialism, it was way behind developed countries in
terms of productive forces. It will take a fairly long historical period before
China can achieve industrialization and modernization. Since the founding of the
People's Republic of China, and particularly since the introduction of reform
and opening-up policy, China has greatly enhanced social productive forces and
its overall national strength, and markedly improved the well-being of its
people. China has achieved a historic leap from meeting the basic living needs
for its people to making life moderately prosperous for them. However, given
China's huge population, weak economic base and development imbalances between
urban and rural areas and among different regions, its low level of productive
forces remains basically unchanged. While continuing economic reform, we have
steadily proceeded with reform in the political system. Socialist democracy and
legal system are being enhanced, and the Chinese people are playing an
increasingly active role in political affairs. People's political, economic,
cultural, social and other rights are duly protected. Nonetheless, China's
socialist market economy and its democracy and legal system are not yet fully
developed. Social unfairness, graft and corruption still exist. The socialist
system is not yet mature. Therefore, China still has a long way to go before it
can move to a stage higher than the primary stage of socialism. It remains a
developing country. Regarding the overall long-term development of socialism,
Comrade Deng Xiaoping made a keen observation in 1992 in his remarks during his
inspection tour to south China: It will take a very long historical period to
consolidate and develop the socialist system, and it will require persistent
struggle by many generations, a dozen or even several dozens. We can never rest
on our oars.
In the process of reform, opening-up and modernization, we
will gain a deeper understanding of what is socialism and how to develop
socialism, and we will be able to enrich and advance socialism by adhering to
the principle that practice is the only criterion for testing truth. In this
connection, two points must be made clear: First, we need to have a full and
profound understanding of the basic conditions of China at the primary stage of
socialism. To build a country of more than one billion people into a prosperous,
strong, democratic, civilized and harmonious modern socialist country is an
unprecedented endeavor in human history. It is a historical mission that
requires persistent and arduous efforts. Second, we must press ahead with reform
and encourage innovation. Comrade Jiang Zemin pointed out, "The great progress
our people have achieved under the leadership of our Party in reform, opening-up
and modernization in the past more than 20 years has been possible because of
the theoretical innovation, institutional innovation, scientific and
technological innovation we have pursued." In pursuing reform and innovation, we
should not only benefit from and carry forward the inexhaustibly rich and
valuable experience our Party has gained in the long years of socialist
development and reform; we should also boldly draw upon all the progress of
human civilization and all advanced business and managerial expertise that
embody the laws governing modern social production. This is the only way for our
socialist system to gain strength in competing with the capitalist system. It is
with this in mind that we say that socialism is like an ocean which never runs
dry as it admits hundreds of rivers. It will take a considerably long historical
process for socialism to gain maturity in terms of both theory and practice.
Therefore, we must unswervingly adhere to the basic lines of the Party for the
primary stage of socialism for the next 100 years and persist in carrying out
reform and innovation to ensure enduring vigor and vitality for socialism with
Chinese characteristics.
Leading officials at all levels should develop
historical and global perspectives and view things from an overall and strategic
angle. Only with a full and deep appreciation of the long-term nature of the
primary stage of socialism and our historic mission can we truly understand why
we have adopted the policies we are pursuing today instead of any other policy
and work with stronger commitment, determination and creativity.
II. The Period of Strategic Opportunities for China's
Development
The first 20 years of this century will be a period of important strategic
opportunities for China. We must not miss it, and we must make full use of it.
To embrace this period of strategic opportunities and make good use of it is of
utmost importance to our goal of building a society of moderate prosperity in
all respects and building socialism with Chinese characteristics.
China did not have many major opportunities for development in its history.
In modern times, China closed itself and fell victim to imperialist aggressions.
As a result, China lost an opportunity for development and fell behind. After
the founding of New China, great achievements were made in its socialist
development endeavors. However, we missed a major development opportunity
because of some big policy mistakes, and particularly the disastrous
ten-year-long "Cultural Revolution". Opportunity is rare. When it presents
itself, we must seize it, or it will be lost for good. In the past 28 years of
reform and opening-up, China's economy has maintained fast and sustainable
growth. This is a miracle. Will China have another period of opportunity in the
future? My answer is yes. How long will it last? This will depend on what
domestic and foreign policies we follow and on our ability to respond to new
developments.
Profound and complex changes are taking place in the world, and many new
international developments deserve our close attention. But the overall
international environment is a favorable one for China. Peace and development
remain the general trend of the times and no major war is likely to break out.
It is fully possible for us to have a fairly long-term peaceful international
environment and a favorable neighborhood environment. History shows that those
remaining backward are invariably despised and bullied by others. We must seize
the favorable international opportunities to speed up our development. Achieving
development is the overriding principle. It is the basis for solving all
problems in China and for China to conduct effective diplomacy. Competition
between states is based on strength. There are major principles and secondary
principles, and the latter should be subjected to the former. Then what is the
major principle? It is to accomplish the central goal of socialist modernization
drive. People of all walks of life in China should recognize the larger interest
of the modernization drive, comply with it and work to advance it.
III. Take the Path of Peaceful Development
China takes the path of peaceful development. This is made necessary by its
national conditions, cultural traditions and its embracing of the global trend
of development. And, in the final analysis, it is determined by the nature of
China as a socialist country led by the Communist Party of China and by the goal
of achieving socialist modernization in China. What is the essence of the path
of peaceful development? It is to foster a peaceful international environment to
develop itself and, in turn, promote world peace with its development. Taking
the path of peaceful development is an initiative that has both external and
domestic dimensions. Thus, we must keep firmly in mind our overall interests on
two fronts, both internal and external.
Domestically, we need to rely mainly on our own effort in pursuing
development. We should promote development by expanding the domestic demand to
meet the people's growing material and cultural needs. China is the most
populous country with a vast territory, relatively rich resources and a market
of huge potential. All this has made it possible for China to achieve
development mainly through its own efforts. In the course of development, China
is bound to encounter bottleneck constraints in areas such as natural resources,
energy and the environment. But thanks to years of hard work, we have succeeded
in embarking on a path leading to all-round, coordinated and sustainable
development. Our goal is to foster and implement a scientific thinking on
development and build a resource-conserving and environment-friendly society. At
the same time, we must give a strong impetus to the modernization drive by
continuing to deepen our reform, opening wider to the outside world and removing
institutional obstacles to development. It is important that we send a clear
message to the world that China will achieve its development mainly through its
own efforts, and this will help fundamentally remove misgivings in the
international community that China is bound to engage in external plundering and
expansion when it reaches a certain stage of development. As China develops
itself, it will make greater contribution to both the development of its
neighborhood areas and that of the whole world.
Internationally, we should advocate peace, development and cooperation and
pursue an independent foreign policy of peace. China works to uphold its
independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, makes judgment
independently on the merit of each international issue and takes position
accordingly. It does not use ideology and social system as a criterion in
conducting diplomacy, nor does it impose its values on others. China does not
enter into alliance with any country or country group. It does not interfere in
other countries' internal affairs, nor does it allow others to interfere in its
internal affairs. China opposes hegemonism and power politics and will never
seek hegemony. In conducting foreign exchanges, we should fully implement the
independent foreign policy of peace. This means we should live in friendship
with all other countries on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful
Coexistence, and treat all countries, whether big or small, rich or poor, strong
or weak, as equals. It means we should work for a just and equitable
international political and economic order which is based on equality, respect
and mutual benefit and whose ultimate goal is to build a harmonious world. It
means we should follow the principle of mutual benefit and mutual respect in
expanding overseas business ties and conducting cultural exchanges. And it means
we should follow a defense policy that is defensive in nature and do not engage
in arms race or military expansion. Since it suffered bitterly from imperialist
aggression and oppression for more than a century after the Opium War
(1840-1842), China knows just too well what foreign aggression and oppression
will bring to a nation. We are sincere and firm in our commitment to taking a
path of peaceful development.
To take a path of peaceful development is a strategy and foreign policy to
which China is committed. It is definitely not an expediency. In following this
guiding principle, we should seize opportunities, remain unswayed by
provocations and concentrate on our development, and we will not seek a
leadership role in the international arena. It is thanks to following this
policy that we have been able to gain more room for the conduct of China's
diplomacy. As China's overall national strength and international standing grow,
the international community will have higher expectation on China. One might ask
if it is still necessary for China to follow this policy. The answer is yes, as
there is no reason whatsoever to change it. Of course, we should remain actively
engaged in international affairs. China is a permanent member of the UN Security
Council and a member in other important international organizations. We should
make full use of this favorable condition to uphold China's fundamental
interests. We should take an active part in the formulation of international
rules to work for a fair and equitable international political and economic
order. We should be actively involved in economic globalization and promote
international and regional economic cooperation to achieve mutual benefit and
win-win progress.
IV. Cultural Development and Exchanges
If China is to gain respect of the international community, we must grow our
economy, advance science and technology and ensure that our people live a
prosperous and happy life. We must also raise the educational level of our
people, improve democracy and legal system and raise cultural and ethical
standard. In recent years, at the same time of speeding up economic development,
we have endeavored to promote political and cultural development and the
building of a harmonious society, and we have given high priority to cultural
exchanges with other countries. We have thus fostered an image of China as a
country that is committed to reform and opening-up, a country of unity and
dynamism, a country that upholds equality and values friendship, and a country
that is sincere and responsible. As a result, China is increasingly viewed in an
objective, rational and friendly light, and there is growing call for
strengthening cooperation with China. All this has created a favorable external
environment for China's modernization program. Therefore, we should enhance
cultural development and exchanges and view it as a key endeavor in building
socialism with Chinese characteristics in all respects.
Cultural diversity should be respected. There are more than 2,000 ethnic
groups in the world. Human civilization has evolved and enriched itself through
interactions among different ethnic communities. Diversity of world culture and
civilization has existed for centuries and will remain so in the future.
Science, democracy, legal system, freedom and human rights are not something
peculiar to capitalism. Rather, they are common values pursued by mankind in the
long historical process and they are fruit of human civilization created by
mankind. It is only that at different historical stages and in different
countries, they are achieved through different means and in different forms.
There is not just one model for the realization of these values. The diversity
of civilization is a reality, whether you face it or not. It is the coexistence,
interaction and convergence of different cultures that have promoted human
progress. Cultural diversity in the world should be recognized. Different
cultures should not discriminate against, be hostile to or exclude each other.
They should respect and draw on each other's strength, and this will make it
possible to create a harmonious and colorful human culture.
China should take its own path in enhancing democracy. We never view
socialism and democracy as something that is mutually exclusive. As a matter of
fact, we see a high degree of democracy and well developed legal system as the
inherent requirement of socialism and a key important feature of a mature
socialist system. We are fully capable of building China into a country of
democracy and rule of law under socialist conditions. We should explore ways to
develop democracy with Chinese characteristics in light of China's particular
conditions. We should focus on efforts to promote economic development, protect
lawful rights and interests of the people, fight corruption, increase public
trust in government, strengthen government functions and enhance social harmony.
And we should continue the reform in the political system by expanding democracy
and improving the legal system. This will enable other members of the
international community to better appreciate and accept the path of development
taken by the Chinese people.
We should fully improve the educational level of the Chinese people. This
means giving a high priority to the development of education. The government
must work with a stronger sense of responsibility to extend and consolidate
compulsory education. More efforts should be made to develop vocational
education and improve higher education. The scientific and cultural level of the
whole Chinese nation should be uplifted. That requires a major effort to foster
values and ethics among the people and accelerate the establishment of a system
of values and ethics which is in keeping with the socialist market economy and
which carries forward the traditional virtues and values of the Chinese nation.
In particular, high priority should be placed on fostering a sense of honesty
and integrity so that the public will have greater sense of integrity and
credibility. In international exchanges, we should be credible and trustworthy,
act in good faith and honor commitment. Thus, we need to ask people to act in a
civilized way in their contacts with foreigners, respect local laws, regulations
and customs and behave properly in public places overseas so that they will
contribute to promoting China's culture and its image. As more Chinese are
traveling overseas, we should strengthen foreign-affairs administration and
crack down hard on crimes such as smuggling, human trafficking and drug
trafficking to ensure order in people-to-people exchanges.
We should expand cultural exchanges with other countries. Cultural exchanges
are a bridge connecting the hearts and minds of people of all countries and an
important way to project a country's image. The rich and profound Chinese
culture, which has a time-honored history, has made significant contribution to
the progress of human civilization. The traditional Chinese culture is noted for
its many luminous ideas: the philosophical precept of "harmony without
uniformity", the political belief that "people is the foundation of the nation",
the educational guideline of "respecting teachers and valuing education", and
the moral ethic of "do not do to others what you would not have them do to you".
We should use various forms and means, including tour performance and
exhibition, Chinese language teaching, academic exchange and sponsoring culture
year activities, to promote Chinese culture and increase its appeal overseas. We
should implement a "going global" cultural strategy, develop culture industry,
improve the international competitiveness of Chinese cultural enterprises and
products, increase the export of books, films, TV programs and other cultural
products, so that these Chinese cultural products and particularly the best of
them, will reach the rest of the world.
We should conduct public diplomacy in a more effective way. We should inform
the outside world of the achievements we have made in reform, opening-up and
modernization in a comprehensive, accurate and timely manner. At the same time,
we should be frank about the problems we have. We should be good at using
flexible and diversified ways in conducting public diplomacy programs. We should
use persuasive ways to communicate with the international community to ensure
that our message is effectively put across. We should work to enable the
international community to develop an objective and balanced view on China's
development and international role, so as to foster an environment of friendly
public opinion for China.
