Respected Mr. Natwar Singh, Minister of External Affairs, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

I feel very delighted to have been invited to the Seminar to Commemorate the 50th anniversayr of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence hosted by Indian Council of World Affairs. June of this year, an international seminar was held in Beijing, China on the same topic. During this year, various kinds of activities have been conducted in both China and India to commemorate the 50th anniversary the five principles of peaceful coexistence.This has not only further enhanced the development of hte long-term constructive partnership, but also displaed our determination to join hands in promoting peace in Asia and the world at large guided bythe great thought of five principles of peaceful coexistence initiated by the outstanding leaders of our two countries 50 years ago. I would like to avail myself of seminar and sincere thanks to all the efforts made by the Indian Council of World Affairs. Five Principles of peaceful coexistence are an outstanding contribution created by the Asian civilization to the system of international relations. It was formed in the 1950s and first appeared in the agreement and joint statements signed by India and China in 1954, reflecting the aspirations of emerging natinos of that time in pursuing reasonable international relations. During hte past half a centruy, these principles have gong beyong the bongdage of ideological and social systems and gained broad recognition from and application by countries in the world, always possessing a new out look and vitality,an making an indelible contribution to the world peace and development.

Ladies and gentlemen, While mankind enters the 21st century, the economic globalisation is in the ascendant, the process of multi-polarisation has become irreversibel, and science and technology are changing with each passing day. Peace and development have become an irreversible historical trend. However, the world is far from peaceful. As the peace issue remains to be resolved, the issue of development appears more prominent. The mankind is facing more emerging challenges. Undre this background, the five principles of peaceful coexistence remain to be the basic norms governing the establishment of a new international order, and should be conscientiously guided by and earnestly carried out.

Firstly, the core of democratic international relations is equality of sovereignty. countries, big or small, rich or poor, strong or weak, are equal members of the international community, the international affiars of each country should be decided by its own people. International affairs should be consulted with all countries on an equal footing.

Secondly, the essence of economic globalisation is mutual benefit and common gain.Developing countries should proceed from its own efforts in developing its economy while developed countries should create a good environment facilitating poverty-elimination and promoting development. A north-south partnership based on equlity and mutual benefit should be built up so as to enable all nations ot share the fruits of global development.

Thirdly, world diversity is the objective basis for the survival and development of the five principles. The world is colorful and diversified, an each country and nation has its own characteristics and competitie edge. The different civilizations, social systems and roads to development should be respected. we should learn from each other through competition and comparison and strive for common development through seeking common ground while shelving differences.

Fourthly, the new security concept is the lates tdevelopment of the five principles.Practices have proven that only by advocating the new security concept with mutual trust,mutual benefit, equality and coordination at its core., can we face up to the new challenges in the world security scenario. Security must mean universal security for all countries. No country should put its own security above other country's security interests. Instead, countries should respect each other and resolve conflicts through peaceful means.

Ladies and gentlemen,

China is one of the major initiators of the five principles of peaceful coexistence, and also a firm implementer. Under the guidance ofthe five principles of peaceful coexistence, we have established dipomatic relations with 165 countries, conducted exchanges and cooperation with 200 countries and regions in the world, and resolved issues left over by history with most neighboring countries. Today, the five principles of peaceful coexistence are still the cornerstone and guidelines for China's foreign relations.

--China will uphold the strategy of good neighborly relationship and partnership,continure to implement the policy of building good neighborly, tranquil and prosperous neighborhood so as to push exchanes and cooperation with neighboring countries to a new high.

--China is ready to consolidate its traditional friendship, enhance solidarity, deepen cooperation in an all-round way and promote common development with the vast number of developing countries.

--China will strive to develop long-term stable friendship and cooperative ties with big countries, settle disputes in a proper way, and expand converging points of common interests.

--China will actively participate in multilateral diplomacy and play an active role in UN and other international and regional organizations.

--China will vigorously strengthen its economic diplomacy and participate in the international economic and technological cooperation and competition in a wider scope, on a broader scale and at a higher level.

--China will expand its cultural exchanges with other countries and safeguard the diversity of human civilizations in a just, democratic and progressive way.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Both India and China are countries with ancient civilizations.For thousands of years, the two peoples have always been coexisting in harmony and the friendly cooperation has always been the mainstream in the Sino-Indian relations.

Both India and China are big developing countries. The combined population of the two countries accounts for one third of the world total. Since reform and opening up, China has persisted in making development the top priority of governing the country and rejuvenating the nation. Seeking development wholeheartedly and fully devoted to building the economy, China has attained remarkable achievements that drew world attention.In recent years, India has also committed itself to economic reforms, developing economy, seeking national rejuvenation and enhencing the people's living standard. Given the similar national conditions between our two countries, we can learn from and emulate each other in many fields so as to attain common development by supplementing one's weak points with the other's strong points. Good neighborly relations and mutually beneficial cooperation between our two countries will not only contribute to the rejuvenation and emergence of the two great nations but also exert significant and far-reaching impact on world peace and development.

Intensifying inter-parliamentary exchanges constitutes part and parcel of enhancing friendly and cooperative relations betwee nour two countries. Recent years have witnessed increasingly frequent exchanges between Indian parliament and China's National People's Congress, which have played an irreplaceable role in promoting friendship, exchanging views, expanding communication and building mutual trust.As the chairman of the NPC china-India Interparliamentary friendship Group, I've always been concerned about hte development of Sino-Indian relations.

I'm looking forward to building up close working ties and cordial personal friendship with my Indian counterparts so that we can join hands in our unremitting efforts to promote Sino-Indian long-term constructive partnership of cooperation by further intensifying exchanges,understanding and cooperation between the two nations and the two governments Thank you.