Working Together to Write a New Chapter of Developing Countries Seeking Strength Through Unity

Working Together to Write a New Chapter of Developing Countries Seeking Strength Through Unity

2021/10/12

Statement by H.E. Wang Yi
State Councilor and Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China At the High-level Commemorative Meeting to Mark the 60th Anniversary of the Non-Aligned Movement 
Belgrade, Serbia, 12 October 2021

Your Excellency President Aleksandar Vučić,
Your Excellency President Ilham Aliyev,

Colleagues,

On behalf of the Chinese government, I would like to extend our warm congratulations on the 60th anniversary of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), and wish this high-level meeting a great success.

Sixty years ago, NAM was born during the climax of national liberation movements in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Carrying forward the Bandung spirit of solidarity, friendship and cooperation, NAM opposes hegemonism, colonialism, racism and foreign rule. It advocates democracy in international relations, and promotes a new international political and economic order. It has become a banner of developing countries coming together for strength.

Sixty years on, NAM membership has grown from 25 to 120, accounting for two-thirds of the UN membership. The Movement is now an indispensable force in international affairs. As the world keeps changing and the times continues to evolve, developing and emerging market countries are rising with an unstoppable momentum. Standing at the threshold of the third decade of the 21st century, it is even more important for developing countries to stay independent and keep their future firmly within their own hands. And it is even more imperative for developing countries to strengthen solidarity and cooperation to make the global governance system fairer and more equitable.

China is a natural partner of NAM. We have been sharing weal and woe with developing countries. We have been providing political support to them, offering economic assistance, and speaking up for justice in the international arena. Those features shine like the primary colors of China's foreign policy. China will always be a member of the developing world. Our heart will always be with developing countries, and we will continue to stand side by side with them, uphold justice while pursuing shared interests, and usher in new prospects of common progress and development. This is a priority in our major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics in the new era.

The world today is under the combined impacts of major changes unseen in a century and the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also faced with prominent uncertainties and destabilizing factors. We should thus stand up together to the challenges, overcome the difficulties together, and build together a favorable international environment for developing countries. China is ready to work with NAM members to do the following:

First, continue to be a contributor to global development. Development holds the key to the well-being of the people. During the General Debate of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, President Xi Jinping officially put forward the Global Development Initiative to advance the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, pursue more robust, greener and more balanced global development, and build a global community of development with a shared future. We welcome active support and participation from NAM members to form international consensus and galvanize concerted actions.

Second, continue to be an advocate of a new type of international relations. Hegemony and power politics did not work in the past 60 years, nor will they ever work today. All countries, regardless of size, strength and wealth, are equal. They should respect the sovereignty and development path independently chosen by each other. They should pursue dialogue instead of confrontation, and form partnerships instead of alliances. They should uphold equity and justice in international affairs, listen to the voice of developing countries, and safeguard their interests. Faced with global challenges, it is important that all countries bear in mind their shared future, shoulder responsibilities together, and pursue win-win cooperation.

Third, continue to be a practitioner of multilateralism. Multilateralism is not a choice, but a necessity. Practicing true multilateralism means safeguarding the status and role of the United Nations, abandoning the Cold War mentality, and refraining from building exclusive blocs for the purpose of ideological and geopolitical rivalry. It means defending the authority of international law and international order, and refraining from imposing the will of a few countries and their so-called rules onto others. It also means upholding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, pursuing extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, and increasing the representation and say of developing countries in world affairs.

Fourth, continue to be an example of international cooperation. South-South cooperation is a great creative undertaking by developing countries to seek strength through unity. It features equality, mutual respect, win-win outcomes, solidarity and mutual assistance. It has helped us blaze a new path to development and prosperity. Under the new circumstances, we need to enrich South-South cooperation, enhance dialogue and exchanges between developing countries on governance, and step up communication and coordination on major international and regional issues, so as to steadily strengthen the forces for a prospective and progressive world.

Colleagues,

China will continue to support the cause of the Non-Aligned Movement and enhance its cooperation with NAM to jointly write a new chapter of developing countries seeking strength through unity and make further, new contribution to world peace and development.