Jointly Create a Bright New Future for International Friendship Cities

The 2014 China International Friendship Cities Conference and the Guangzhou International Urban Innovation Conference are now convening here in Guangzhou. First of all， on behalf of the Chinese Government and in my own name， I’d like to extend warm congratulations on the convocation of the conference and a sincere welcome to all the delegates， especially foreign friends from afar.

China’s international friendship city activities carried out for more than 40 years have become an important component part of our friendly contacts with other countries， greatly enhancing mutual understanding and friendship. In 1973， Tianjin of China and Kobe of Japan established the first friendship-city relationship， opening an important channel for Chinese local governments to conduct external exchanges and cooperation. With the continuous advancement of reform and opening up， China has seen a vigorous development of these friendship-city links， now involving 2，154 pairs. International cooperation has been expanded from bilateral to multilateral and the areas of their cooperation have been extended from personnel exchanges to politics， economy， culture， social development， etc.， further facilitating friendly contacts and mutually beneficial cooperation. Meanwhile， international friendship-city activities have helped the world know China better， and broadened， deepened and upgraded China’s opening up. It can be said that China’s international friendship-city activities and reform and opening up have greatly benefited from each other. The CPAFFC， which is responsible for coordinating and overseeing the friendship-city activities of local governments， has played an important bridging role.

The Chinese people are working toward the two “centenary goals”， which is to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020 and to build China into a modern socialist country that is prosperous， democratic， culturally advanced and harmonious by the middle of this century， thus realizing the Chinese Dream of the great renewal of the Chinese nation. The people of other countries also have their own dreams and are endeavoring to achieve economic and social development and prosperity and stability. The Chinese dream not only represents the Chinese people’s pursuit of happiness， but also reflects the aspirations of people all over the world.

This conference， with the theme of “My City， My Dream”， reflects the wishes of the Chinese people to work together with the people of all countries to promote international exchanges among cities and give impetus to the realization of the dreams of their respective countries.

China loves peace. Chinese culture advocates the concept of harmony. For over 5，000 years， the Chinese nation has been pursuing and maintaining the philosophy of peace， friendship and harmony. More than 2，100 years ago， in the Han Dynasty， the Chinese people opened up the Silk Road. Equal and profound exchanges between eastern and western civilizations promoted the spirit of peace， friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation， tremendously benefiting the people of the countries along the Silk Road. Peace as being the most precious; treat others with kindness; do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you. These traditional ideas have passed on from generation to generation and taken root in the hearts of the Chinese people and are reflected in their behavior.

The Chinese Government has stated publically many times that China will unswervingly pursue peaceful development. Over the past 30 years since China adopted the policy of reform and opening up， the Chinese people have successfully blazed a road of building socialism with Chinese characteristics and made historical progress in development. China’s economic aggregate has become the second largest in the world， its comprehensive national strength has been markedly enhanced and people’s livelihood obviously improved.

History has proved that peaceful development is a strategic option China has made on the basis of its national conditions， social system and cultural tradition， which conforms to the trend of the times and serves its fundamental interests and the interests of all other countries. We shall persistently follow this path.

Currently， the world is undergoing profound and complex changes. The new adjustments in international pattern and increased uncertain factors affecting the global and regional situation are hindering peace and development. China has scored remarkable achievements in its development， but it remains the world’s largest developing country facing many challenges and a long and arduous journey ahead. We need to draw upon the achievements of other civilizations.

Facing the complex and ever-changing world situation， countries of the world should make concerted efforts， further strengthen friendly exchanges and continue to expand their cooperation in various fields. The international friendship-city work as the main channel for deepening international cooperation will play a prominent role in this. Here I would like to make a three-point proposal for future development of international friendship cities:

First， we need to cultivate friendship among the people. Affinity between the people holds the key to state-to-state relations while mutual understanding holds the key to people-to-people relations. We should respect each other， enhance mutual understanding and handle differences in a rational way. We should treat the people of other countries with sincerity， inclusiveness and friendship and work to bring the relationship between the Chinese and other peoples closer and increase their affinity and sense of identity.

Second， we need to blaze new trails in a pioneering spirit. In our international friendship-city work， we should progress with the times， foster innovative thinking， find and know well the new trends， master new laws， carry out multi-tiered friendly exchanges among cities in extensive areas and through diverse channels， and work out new models of international friendship-city work.

Third， we need to strengthen cooperation. International friendship cities should vigorously carry out exchanges and cooperation in the fields of economy， trade， culture， education and among youth， elevate the level of result-oriented cooperation in various areas， and promote resources sharing and win-win cooperation so that the fruits of cooperation will benefit the people of all countries.

Today， countries in the world are more interdependent than ever， and people’s life more closely connected than ever. The times call on us to continue to follow the road of peace， development， cooperation and win-win progress. China will unswervingly follow the path of peaceful development and an open and mutually-beneficial win-win strategy. It will play an active role in international and regional affairs， integrate its development with the development of the world so that all countries can help and complement each other in their development.

We are willing to continue to work hard with all the delegates present here to push the friendly exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation between cities of China and other countries to a new height. Let us join hands and make concerted efforts to build a harmonious world of lasting peace and shared prosperity.

I wish the conference full success. Thank you.