President Hu Jintao said yesterday that China is a responsible nation that stands for world peace and prosperity.
It will never threaten world peace and will, instead, be a force for prosperity, he said while addressing the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit.
"China's development will not stand in the way of anyone, nor will it pose any threat to anyone," he told hundreds of business leaders from the Asia-Pacific region.
He said China's top priority is to improve the lives of its own people and for this it needed a peaceful international environment.
Despite great progress in its economic development, China remains the biggest developing country with a large population, weak economic foundation and uneven development, Hu said.
"There is a long way to go before we realize modernization and common prosperity, and we need to make long-term and arduous efforts to this end."
Hu also highlighted China's peaceful rise in his speech to the South Korean National Assembly in Seoul yesterday morning.
China will endeavor to develop through preserving a peaceful international environment while promoting world peace through its own development, he said.
He said that China would have broad exchanges with various countries for mutual benefit.
Hu reaffirmed Beijing's commitment to denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and said China would work with South and North Korea for peace.
"We firmly support whatever is conducive to safeguarding peace and stability on the peninsula," he told the South Korean lawmakers.
Hu drew frequent applause from the lawmakers and received a standing ovation after his 30-minute speech.
Hu hailed China's comprehensive partnership and flourishing ties with South Korea, saying the relationship "has entered the best period in history." The two countries forged diplomatic ties in 1992; and relations have since made great strides, with China overtaking the US as South Korea's biggest trade partner.
Hu flew from Seoul to Busan yesterday afternoon for a two-day APEC leaders' meeting starting today.
(China Daily November 18, 2005)
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