江门玻璃厂:求一篇英语短文 say something about China

World Situation and China?s Diplomacy-- Exclusive Interview with Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan by the People?s Daily

l Basic trends in international configuration and developments have not changed by the “September 11th” incident. The fundamental contradictions in international relations are yet to be resolved and peace and development remain the main themes of our times.

l The current international situation and that of a period to come will be characterized basically by the coexistence of overall peace and local wars, overall relaxation and local tension, and overall stability and local turbulence.

l The question of international security has assumed multiple dimensions, as traditional security concerns and non-traditional security factors intertwine and terrorism and other non-traditional security threats are on the increase.

l Under the Party’s central leadership with Comrade Jiang Zemin at its core, we have sized up and handled the events with a cool head and used the opportunities to our advantage, thus further creating a new situation in our diplomatic work. China's international standing and role have risen conspicuously. Opportunity will continue to outweigh challenge in our international environment.

Q: I would like to begin by asking Minister Tang to give us an overall assessment of the international situation in the past year.

A: It is the first year of the new century, a year that can only be described as highly extraordinary. The international situation has gone through quite a few ups and downs and remained complicated and intricate. As contingencies of crisis proportions occurred frequently, uncertainties have increased. The “September 11th” incident, in particular, had a major impact in the international political, economic, security, cultural and other fields. As some existing hot spots are yet to be resolved, new ones have cropped up. As world economic slowdown accelerates, its impacts on various countries are beginning to show.

Nevertheless, taken as a whole, basic trends in international configuration and developments have not changed by the “September 11th” incident. Peace and development remain the main themes of our times. The trend towards a multi-polar world has continued to develop, albeit in a zigzag manner. The international environment we face is still one in which opportunities outweigh challenges. The current international situation and that of a certain period to come will be characterized basically by the coexistence of overall peace and local wars, overall relaxation and local tension, and overall stability and local turbulence.

Q: The international security situation has undergone some new changes this year. Could you comment on these changes?

A: At present? the question of international security has assumed multiple dimensions. As traditional security concerns and non-traditional security factors intertwine, terrorism and other non-traditional security threats are on the increase. Such a threat to international security is real and imminent. At the same time, some existing hot spots continue to have a serious impact on regional and international security.

The sudden turn of the Afghan situation in the wake of the “September 11th” incident has made it a focus of world’s attention. As its neighbor, China has been closely following the developments in Afghanistan and played a positive part in finding a solution to the issue. In the five-point proposition put forward by us, we emphasized the need for building a broad-based multi-ethnic regime in Afghanistan that co-exists amicably with other countries, particularly its neighbors, and the need for the United Nations to play an important role in this process. It is gratifying to see that, under the auspices of the United Nations, the various Afghan factions reached an important agreement in Bonn on the establishment of an interim government in that country. This represents an auspicious beginning for restoring peace and stability in Afghanistan. We welcome this development and hope that the Afghan factions will, in the interest of continued national reconciliation, earnestly implement the agreement and return the country to peace and stability as early as possible.

China always supports the Middle East peace process and stands for solving the Middle East question in a comprehensive, fair and reasonable manner. The current escalating bloodshed in Israel-Palestine conflict poses a severe test to the peace process, and we are deeply unsettled by it. China strongly condemns acts of violence and hopes that the parties will take every effective measure to put an end to all violence as soon as possible so as to ease the tension and create conditions for the resumption of peace talks.

Q: How do you view the shifts and changes in the international relations of the past year?

A: Some positive changes have taken place in my view. First, in order to meet common challenges, countries have sought to converge their interests and stepped up dialogues and cooperation at both bilateral and multilateral levels on issues pertaining to peace and development. Secondly, there has been a general relaxation in the relations among world’s major countries. The first half of the year saw some setbacks and even sharp standoffs in such relations. While in the latter half of the year and especially after the "September 11th" incident, relations among major countries began to improve and grow as they stepped up coordination and consensus-building. Thirdly, high-level exchanges and meetings among countries have increased, with hotline telephone conversations becoming more frequent. Such direct contact at the level of national leadership has played an irreplaceable role in promoting the changes in international relations. In general, these changes serve the interest of multi-polarization and contribute to world peace and stability.

However, one must also realize that the basic contradictions in international relations are not resolved. Some deep-rooted problems among big countries persist, North-South gap continues to widen and no marked change has taken place in the existing inequitable international order.

Q: The popular belief right now both at home and abroad is that world economic situation is very grim. What’s your view on this?

A: In my view, global economic growth is now undergoing a new period of readjustment. U.S. economy has entered a recession after the longest expansion since the end of World War II. The three biggest economies of the U.S., Europe and Japan are experiencing slowdown all at the same time, which is unprecedented since 1970s. And world economic growth is at its lowest level in 10 years. There are multiple causes for such a state of affairs, but the "September 11th" incident has clearly aggravated the matter. With the declining world trade and foreign direct investment, the developing countries are facing a lot more difficulties. Under such new circumstances, countries should strengthen coordination and cooperation in international trade, finance and other areas. It is necessary for the developed countries to be more flexible in favor of developing countries in terms of greater assistance, debt forgiveness and market access. The new round of multilateral trade negotiations launched by WTO at its Doha Conference is a positive signal, and we hope to see concerted efforts by all countries to bring about an early economic recovery in the world.

Q: This year, Chinese diplomacy is vigorous, colorful, well-paced and highly fruitful. Could Minister Tang be more specific?

A: In the face of a volatile international situation, our Party Central Committee with Comrade Jiang Zemin at its core has demonstrated great vision and decisive leadership. While watching and dealing with the situation with a cool head, we have sized up the opportunities and used them to our advantage, thus further creating a new situation in our diplomatic work. Our international standing and role have risen remarkably as a result.

China is playing a constructive role in the worldwide fight against terrorism. Since the "September 11th" incident, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Jiang Zemin at its core has attached great importance to the impact of this major event, made a correct judgment of the situation and responded with timely strategies and measures. Firmly opposed to terrorism of all forms and manifestations, we have actively participated in international counter-terrorism cooperation and urged a leading role by the United Nations and its Security Council in this regard. At the same time, we have made it clear that military actions against terrorism must have clearly defined targets and conform with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and universally recognized norms of international law. Lumping terrorism and specific ethnic group or religion together should be avoided. Through its words and deeds, China conveys an image of a responsible big country that loves peace and upholds justice, a country that is widely acclaimed in the international community.

China successfully hosted the 9th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting. This grand gathering was held shortly after the "September 11th" incident when the world economy was severely tested. Not only the APEC member economies had high expectations of it, people throughout the world were watching it closely. Focusing on the theme - Meeting New Challenges in the New Century: Achieving Common Prosperity through Participation and Cooperation, the participating leaders under the chairmanship of President Jiang Zemin had an in-depth exchange of views and reached broad consensus. The Meeting’s complete success has injected fresh vitality into APEC’s future development and boosted people's confidence in reactivated world economic growth.

China's relations with the world’s major countries have shown signs of fresh headway. Going through difficulties in the first half of the year, China-US relations have gradually returned to normal and made steady improvement in the second half. President Jiang and President Bush had their first meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Shanghai, and reached important common understanding on developing a constructive and cooperative relationship between the two countries, thus opening up new horizons for bilateral ties. This year also saw bumper harvest in the strategic partnership of cooperation between China and Russia. The two countries have had frequent exchanges of high-level visits. President Jiang and President Putin have met with each other on several occasions, and during President Jiang's visit to Russia, the two sides formally signed the Treaty of Good-Neighbourliness, Friendship and Cooperation Between China and Russia, thus laying a legal foundation for the development of long-term friendship between the two countries. The all-round China-EU partnership has developed smoothly. With the 4th China-EU Summit producing important results, the China-EU relationship has entered a new stage of all-round cooperation. Despite the repeated ups and downs, China-Japan relationship has returned to the normal track thanks to the efforts made by both sides in a spirit of "drawing lessons from history and looking to the future".

China's relations with its surrounding countries featuring good-neigbourliness, friendship and cooperation have also entered a new phase of comprehensive development. This year, China joined Russia, Kazakstan, Kirgizstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in inaugurating the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, giving birth to a new type of regional cooperation organisation that pursues security through mutual trust and seeks cooperation on the basis of mutual benefit. China's cooperation with ASEAN countries has continued to expand. At the 5th ASEAN+China Summit (10+1), China and ASEAN countries identified priority areas for cooperation in the new century and unanimously agreed to set up a China-ASEAN free trade area in 10 year's time. This is of far-reaching significance to the long-term development of China-ASEAN relations and to prosperity and stability in the region.

China's cooperative ties with the vast number of developing countries have made substantial progress. We have maintained frequent high-level exchanges, strengthened political consultation and expanded economic cooperation and trade. President Jiang's successful visit to 6 Latin American countries last April has left a new chapter in the annals of friendship and cooperation between China and Latin America. China's relations with African countries have developed smoothly and all kinds of follow-ups to the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation are promoted in a step-by-step manner.

Q: Finally, could Foreign Minister Tang please say something about China's diplomacy of next year?

A: The year 2002 will be a highly significant year in the history of our Party and our country. Given the basic trends in international situation, China’s diplomacy of next year will still face opportunities and challenges with opportunities though outweighing challenges. We must unswervingly carry out Deng Xiaoping's thoughts on diplomacy, implement in real earnest the important thinking of "three-represents", and further raise our consciousness of the overall interests, our sense of anxiety about perils, our sense of managing contingencies and our sense of innovation. We should be firmly resolved to respond to the problems with confidence, improve our working style, and dedicate to our work so as to greet the convocation of the 16th CPC Congress with our concrete accomplishment. We will continue to play our part in advancing the modernization program, realizing the grand cause of national reunification, and promoting world peace and common development.