Today,  the combined forces of changes in the world unseen in a century and the  COVID-19 global pandemic have taken the world into a phase of fluidity  and transformation. Threats and challenges with global implications keep  emerging. Unilateralism, protectionism, and hegemonism are reasserting  themselves, and nontraditional security threats involving public health,  terrorism, climate change, and cybersecurity are rising. Instability  and uncertainties are mounting in the world.   

Meanwhile,  the world is becoming increasingly multi-polar, economically  globalized, digitized and culturally diversified. The call of the  international community for peace and development grows even stronger.  Countries need to strengthen solidarity and cooperation, uphold the  vision of a community with a shared future for mankind, further improve  the global governance system, and work together to find solutions to  global issues.

I. The world needs true multilateralism. Multilateralism  is a cornerstone of the existing international order and an effective  path to upholding peace and promoting development. In the world, there  is only one international system, i.e. the international system with the  United Nations at its core. There is only one international order, i.e.  the international order underpinned by international law. And there is  only one set of rules, i.e. the basic norms governing international  relations underpinned by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.

—  We need to practice true multilateralism, observe the purposes and  principles of the UN Charter and the basic norms governing international  relations; respect the sovereignty of all countries and equality among  them, big or small; uphold diversity in the world and respect the  legitimate development rights of all countries and their own choice of  development path; handle world affairs through extensive consultation  and advocate greater democracy in international relations. We need to  oppose the attempt to seek exclusive, bloc politics under the disguise  of multilateralism, or to impose the rules made by a few countries on  the wider international community under the pretext of multilateralism.  We must reject the moves to use multilateralism as an ideological tool  to build alliances of values targeting certain countries.

—  We need to advocate consultation, cooperation and shared benefits in  global governance and adopt a Member States-led and action-oriented  approach to improve the global governance system. The aim is to make it  better reflect the changing international landscape and the aspirations  and interests of the majority of countries, especially emerging markets  and developing countries, and more effective in tackling global  challenges. All UN Member States should earnestly fulfill their  financial obligations stipulated in the UN Charter and pay assessments  for both regular budgets and peacekeeping operations on time, in full,  without conditions and in accordance with the “capacity to pay”  principle set forth in the UN General Assembly resolution, so as to  support the UN in effectively carrying out its functions.

— We need to take the promotion of the Secretary-General’s report Our Common Agenda  as an opportunity to keep improving the efficiency of the UN, enhance  its capacity to address global challenges, and better respond to new  circumstances and tasks. In particular, the UN needs to strengthen the  capacity of its development system to support Member States in  implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and enhance  oversight and accountability to fully meet the expectations of the  international community.

II. Promoting a global community of security for all. The  Global Security Initiative (GSI) proposed by President Xi Jinping is  underpinned by “six commitments”, namely, staying committed to the  vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security;  staying committed to respecting the sovereignty and territorial  integrity of all countries; staying committed to abiding by the purposes  and principles of the UN Charter; staying committed to taking the  legitimate security concerns of all countries seriously; staying  committed to peacefully resolving differences and disputes between  countries through dialogue and consultation; and staying committed to  maintaining security in both traditional and non-traditional domains,  with a view to promoting a global community of security for all.  Upholding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, the GSI takes  mutual respect as the fundamental requirement and indivisible security  as the important principle, in order to foster a new type of security  that replaces confrontation, alliance and a zero-sum approach with  dialogue, partnership and win-win results.

—  Promoting the political settlement of international and regional  hotspots. Wars and sanctions are not fundamental paths to resolving  problems; only dialogue and consultation offer effective ways to  addressing differences. Countries need to enhance strategic  communication among them, improve security mutual trust, resolve  disputes, manage differences, and remove the root causes of crises.  Major countries should uphold equity and justice, shoulder their due  responsibilities, and support equal-footed consultation. They should  respect the views of the countries concerned, and facilitate talks for  peace, play good offices and mediate in light of the needs and will of  the countries concerned. The Security Council should apply on a priority  basis the tools of mediation availed to it by Chapter VI of the UN  Charter to actively promote the political settlement of hot-spot issues.  The international community should uphold the principle of indivisible  security, establish a balanced, effective and sustainable security  architecture, and stay committed to promoting the peaceful settlement of  international disputes. Parties in a conflict should be encouraged to  build trust, resolve disputes and enhance security through dialogue.

 —  Upholding global strategic stability. China maintains that  nuclear-weapon states should abandon nuclear deterrence policies based  on pre-emptive moves, stop developing and deploying global  anti-ballistic missile systems, and not seek to deploy land-based  intermediate-range missiles overseas, so as to promote global strategic  balance and stability. Relevant countries should withdraw all nuclear  weapons deployed abroad and refrain from any attempt to replicate the  nuclear sharing model in the Asia-Pacific region. Nuclear disarmament  should follow the principles of “maintaining global strategic stability”  and “undiminished security for all” and proceed in a gradual manner.  Countries with the largest nuclear arsenals shoulder special and primary  responsibilities in nuclear disarmament.

— China  advocates the complete prohibition and thorough destruction of weapons  of mass destruction (WMD), including nuclear, biological and chemical  weapons, and firmly opposes any forms of proliferation. The AUKUS  cooperation on nuclear submarine concerns the integrity, effectiveness  and authority of the NPT. It affects the international security order as  well as regional or even global security and stability. The IAEA has on  multiple occasions included the AUKUS issue in its formal agenda. China  urges the three countries to take seriously the concerns of the  international community and support the IAEA in initiating and advancing  an intergovernmental process according to the established practice to  discuss issues concerning such cooperation. Pending an agreement among  the various parties, the three countries and the IAEA Secretariat should  not proceed to negotiate, on their own, any safeguards arrangement on  nuclear submarine cooperation. China urges the three countries to  respect the will of regional countries and revoke the decision to pursue  nuclear submarine cooperation.

— China  takes nuclear security seriously. It has proposed a rational,  coordinated and balanced approach to nuclear security and worked  actively for a community of shared future for global nuclear  security. The international community should draw lessons from the  Fukushima nuclear accident, make continuous efforts to enhance nuclear  security, and protect a safe global marine environment and people’s  health interests. Japan’s unilateral decision to discharge the  contaminated water into the ocean has caused serious concern among the  Pacific Rim countries and the Japanese people. Japan should live up to  its international obligations, dispose of the contaminated water in a  science-based, open, transparent and secure manner, and stop pursuing  its discharge plan. Japan must not start the discharge process prior to  a thorough consultation and consensus with stakeholders and relevant  international agencies.

— China works actively for the full, balanced and effective implementation of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction  (CWC), and is committed to the lofty goal of achieving a world free of  chemical weapons. China calls upon the US to complete the destruction of  its chemical weapon stockpile as soon as possible and urges Japan to  speed up the destruction of the chemical weapons it left in China. China  upholds the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and  sustainable security for all countries and calls for continued efforts  to strengthen global governance on conventional weapons.

—  China attaches great importance to biosecurity and is committed to  improving global governance in this area. It is important that the  international community work together for substantive outcomes at the  Review Conference of the Convention on the Prohibition of the  Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological)  and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction (BWC) to be held at the  end of this year, steadily bolster the mechanisms of the Convention, and  restart multilateral negotiations on a verification protocol to the  Convention. The international community should jointly advocate  responsible biological research and encourage all stakeholders to  voluntarily observe the Tianjin Biosecurity Guidelines for Codes of Conduct for Scientists to lower biosecurity risks and promote the sound development of biological science and technology.

—  On outer space security, China maintains that the equal rights of all  countries to explore and peacefully use outer space should be respected  and guaranteed, and that attempts to create major-country competition,  bloc politics and rival camps in outer space must be rejected. China  supports the UN’s role as the main platform for international governance  on outer space and stands firm against arms race in outer space. On  cybersecurity, efforts must be made to uphold solidarity against the  practices of fragmenting the Internet or stoking confrontation.  A balanced approach should be adopted to handle technological  progress and economic development on the one hand and the protection of  national security and public interests on the other  without overstretching the concept of national security to  restrict normal ICT development and cooperation. On the security  governance of artificial intelligence (AI), countries should uphold  multilateralism and the principles of openness and inclusiveness and  carry out dialogue and cooperation to jointly regulate the military  application of AI, set up international mechanisms with  broad participation, and push for AI governance frameworks, standards  and norms that reflect extensive consensus.

—  The international community should put up a global united front on  counterterrorism with the UN at its center, and step up coordination to  form greater synergy. China strongly condemns terrorism and extremism of  all forms, opposes associating them with specific countries,  ethnicities or religions, and stands against double standards on this  issue. China calls for a holistic approach to counterterrorism that  addresses both the symptoms and root causes. Efforts are needed to  facilitate the political settlement of hotspot issues, promote  the harmonious coexistence of different civilizations and religions, and  help relevant regions and countries develop their economies and improve  people’s lives, so as to eliminate the breeding ground of terrorism at  its source. It is imperative to help developing countries enhance  counterterrorism capacity building and work to address the challenges  that emerging technologies are bringing to the international fight  against terrorism.

III. Promoting a global community of development with a shared future. In  2013, China put forward the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). With  connectivity as its main focus, the BRI is designed to promote policy,  infrastructure, trade, financial and people-to-people connectivity. As  of July 2022, 149 countries had signed Belt and Road cooperation  documents with China, making the BRI the largest and widely welcomed  platform for international cooperation in the world. Belt and Road  cooperation is guided by the principle of extensive consultation, joint  contribution and shared benefits. It follows the concept of open, green  and clean development, and is aimed at high-standard, people-centered  and sustainable growth. Since the BRI was put forth nine years ago, a  large number of practical cooperation projects have been successfully  launched. Relevant cooperation has demonstrated strong resilience and  vitality despite COVID-19. Relevant parties are further enhancing the  complementarity between development strategies, deepening practical  cooperation in various areas, and working together to build a Health  Silk Road, a green Silk Road, a digital Silk Road, and a Silk Road of  innovation, with a view to creating new highlights of cooperation and  achieving higher-level cooperation, better cost-effectiveness,  higher-quality supply and stronger development resilience. Such efforts  will produce more positive outcomes in advancing high-quality Belt and  Road cooperation and contribute even more to post-COVID global economic  recovery. China will continue to promote the complementarity and synergy  between Belt and Road cooperation and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable  Development, and work with all partners including UN agencies for more  progress in high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and for a bright  future of win-win cooperation.

—  President Xi Jinping has proposed the Global Development Initiative  (GDI), which aims at building consensus, mobilizing resources,  promoting action and forming synergy for implementing the 2030 Agenda  for Sustainable Development at a faster pace. China has acted in the  spirit of an open and inclusive partnership, and followed the principles  of development first, a people-centered approach, harmony between man  and nature, innovation-driven development, a global partnership for  development, results-oriented actions, and synergy through coordination,  to ensure that no country or individual would be left behind. China has  identified 8 priority areas, namely poverty alleviation, food security,  COVID-19 response and vaccine, development financing, climate change  and green development, industrialization, digital economy and  connectivity in the digital era, as viable pathways for speeding up the  implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

—  It is important to improve the global governance mechanism on poverty  reduction and draw greater international attention to poverty reduction.  More efforts are needed to deepen policy exchanges and practical  cooperation and expand partnerships, with a view to eradicating absolute  poverty and addressing the challenges of pandemic- or conflict-induced  poverty or relapse into poverty and multidimensional poverty. It is  essential to promote full employment and help certain groups such as  youth and women get out of poverty. More should be done to strengthen  energy policy coordination, keep the energy supply chain secure and  stable, and ensure access to affordable energy in developing countries.  It is important to increase financing for sustainable development, urge  developed countries to fulfill ODA commitments to developing countries,  fully harness the role of multilateral development banks and other  international financial institutions, in order to provide more  development resources to developing countries and shore up their  capacity for self-generated development.

—  It is important to step up cooperation in food production, storage,  transport, processing and food loss and waste reduction, and improve  food self-sufficiency of developing countries, especially the least  developed countries. Efforts should be made to make the international  order for food trade more just and equitable, and keep industrial and  supply chains stable and smooth. There should be closer cooperation on  agricultural technology to promote the transformation of the food system  and realize the green and sustainable development of agriculture and  rural areas.

— It  is important to deepen anti-pandemic cooperation, strengthen cooperation  on vaccine innovation, research and development, joint production and  technology transfer, to ensure vaccine accessibility and affordability  in developing countries and put up a global immunization defence. The  international community should support the WHO in playing a central  coordinating role in global health governance and support necessary and  reasonable reform of the global health governance system to make the  Organization better able to respect science free from political  interference, access and deploy resources to address public health  crises, and support the building of a global community of health for  all. Support should be given to the origins tracing of the coronavirus  around the world, and all forms of political manipulation must be firmly  opposed. It is important to uphold multilateralism and enhance  unity and cooperation to further support the work of the UN and its  specialized agencies in preventing and treating AIDS and other  communicable and non-communicable diseases, and work toward realizing  the health-related targets of the 2030 Agenda.

—  We need to strengthen international climate cooperation and help  developing countries resist the impact of climate change. It is  important to stick to the basic legal framework and principles of the  United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its  Paris Agreement, particularly the principles of equity, common but  differentiated responsibilities, and respective capabilities. Developed  countries should earnestly fulfill their commitments of financing,  technology and capacity-building support to developing countries. We  should keep to the general direction of low-carbon development, strike a  balance between livelihood imperatives and energy security, and make  sure that the phase-down of traditional energy is based on safe and  reliable substitution in new energy. Efforts need to be made to deepen  cooperation on renewable energy and clean energy, strengthen technology  transfer and sharing, and transform and upgrade the energy and resources  mix and the consumption pattern. We need to step up cooperation in  ecological and environmental protection and governance and enhance  developing countries’ capacity for green development and financing.

—  Countries need to strengthen digital capacity building to bridge the  digital divide. Efforts need to be made to enhance international  cooperation on developing the digital industry and transforming  traditional industries with digital technologies, integrate digital  technologies with the real economy, transform and upgrade traditional  industries, bolster pandemic response and economic recovery and growth  through digital means, and advance coordinated digital and green  transition and development. It is important to harness digital  technologies in poverty reduction and carry out cooperation in such  areas as e-commerce for farmers. Countries need to strengthen  cooperation on the digitization of customs services, advance cooperation  on Smart Customs, Smart Borders and Smart Connectivity, and build a  smart network connecting all parties involved in the supply chain.

IV. Promoting humanity’s common values of peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom. Peace  and development are our common cause, equity and justice our common  aspiration, and democracy and freedom our common pursuit. The world we  live in is diverse and colorful. Diversity is the charm of human  civilization and provides a constant source of vitality and driving  force for world development. Countries around the world should rise  above ideological disputes, avoid the trap of “clash of civilizations”,  and respect each other’s independent choice of development path and  model. We should see the diversity of our world as an inexhaustible  source of inspiration driving human advancement and a natural reflection  of the colorful civilizations of humanity.

—  Promoting and protecting human rights is the shared cause of all  humanity. The UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights  have set out lofty ideals and basic principles for the global human  rights cause. They should be observed and delivered by all countries.  Human rights have historical, specific and practical contexts. It is  both necessary and imperative for countries to explore their own paths  of human rights development in light of national realities and the needs  of their people. It is important to uphold a human rights philosophy  that centers on the people, and take coordinated and systemic measures  to advance all types of human rights, among which the rights to  subsistence and development are the basic human rights of paramount  importance. Countries have the right to choose independently their paths  of human rights development, and human rights dialogue and cooperation  should be conducted on the basis of equality and mutual respect.  Politicization of human rights issues, double standards and the use of  human rights as an excuse to interfere in other countries’ internal  affairs should be rejected. The Human Rights Council and other human  rights mechanisms of the UN should honor the principles of fairness,  impartiality, non-selectiveness and non-politicization, and avoid  becoming a stage for political confrontation.

—  It is important to uphold fairness and justice by punishing wrongdoings  while promoting good conduct. The international community needs to  build extensive political consensus, and take a zero-tolerance stance,  build zero-loophole institutions, and conduct zero-barrier cooperation  to combat corruption. It is important to respect differences, treat each  other as equals and promote mutual learning; respect countries’ right  to choose their own paths for fighting corruption; and advance  international cooperation against corruption on the basis of equal  treatment, respect for differences, exchanges and mutual learning, and  common progress. It is important to pursue win-win cooperation through  extensive consultation and joint contribution; uphold multilateralism  and improve the system of global rules for anti-corruption governance on  the basis of consensus; act in line with the purposes and principles of  the UN Charter, and carry out anti-corruption cooperation within the  framework of the UN Convention against Corruption. It is important to  honor commitments with action. The parties to the UN Convention against  Corruption should deliver their solemn commitments on anti-corruption  cooperation and fulfill their international obligations.

—  Advancing the causes of women and children are important goals of the  2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Efforts need to be redoubled to  implement the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and put the  protection of the rights and interests of women and children high on our  agenda. Comprehensive measures should be taken to ensure women and  children enjoy the various benefits of development. We should support  the UN in its leading and coordinating role and strengthen international  cooperation on women and children.

—  We need to tackle the challenge of refugees within the multilateral  framework, give full play to the role of the UN and its refugee agency  and other multilateral institutions as the main  channel, earnestly implement the Global Compact on Refugees, work hard  to address the root causes of large waves of refugees, and push the  international community to advance global refugee governance in  accordance with the principle of common but differentiated  responsibilities.

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There  is but one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienable part of  China’s territory; the Government of the People’s Republic of China is  the sole legal government representing the whole of China. Resolution  2758 adopted by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in 1971 restored the  lawful seat of the People’s Republic of China in the UN, and settled  once and for all the political, legal and procedural issues of the  representation of the whole of China, including Taiwan, in the UN. The  UN system, its specialized agencies and the UN Secretariat should abide  by the one-China principle and UNGA Resolution 2758 when dealing with  any Taiwan-related affairs. The one-China principle has become a  universal consensus of the international community and a basic norm in  international relations.

Resolving  the Taiwan question to realize China’s complete reunification is the  shared aspiration of all Chinese people. China will continue to work  with the greatest sincerity and effort to achieve peaceful  reunification, but will leave no room for any form of “Taiwan  independence” secessionist activities. The Taiwan question is an  internal affair that involves China’s core interests and the Chinese  people’s national sentiments; no external interference will be  tolerated.

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The  Communist Party of China will soon convene its 20th National Congress.  China will continue to follow the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on  Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and Xi  Jinping Thought on Diplomacy in particular, actively participate in  international affairs, act with a sense of responsibilities as a major  country, advance the building of a new type of international relations  featuring mutual respect, fairness, justice and win-win cooperation, and  work tirelessly for building a community with a shared future for  mankind.