Ideas for peace

Number 9 – December 2016

China’s Foreign Policy

His Excellency Song Yanbin,
Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China
in Costa Rica

• As one of the founding members of the UN, China has been

committed to and closely linked to the work of the United Nations
since its inception: it was the first to sign the UN Charter; it serves
as a permanent member of the Security Council; and it participates
actively in international peacekeeping missions, deploying over
30,000 Blue Helmets who have taken part in 29 peacekeeping
missions around the world.

• China chooses peace and development as its main trends at all times,
in addition to promoting multi-polarization and globalization,
as well as the optimization of the world governance apparatus,
all with the aim of allowing all nations to share opportunities for
development, benefits and responsibilities.

• China is committed to peaceful development, both with regards to its

international cooperation policies and its diplomatic stance. It aims to
build a community of human beings with a shared destiny through
partnerships in which countries are treated as equals; its strategic
priority is to persist in peaceful development; it takes mutually-
beneficial cooperation as the fundamental principle; it prioritizes the
establishment of associations; and it adopts the concepts of justice
and human interest as guiding principles.
 Ideas for peace
www.upeace.org/ideasforpeace

China’s Foreign Policy

Mr. Song Yanbin: His Excellency Song Yanbin is currently the Ambassador of the
People’s Republic of China in Costa Rica and has been since 2012. Previous to that,
he served as Counsellor and Deputy Director General of Hong Kong, Macao and
Taiwan Affairs within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has also represented his
country in Portugal and Mozambique.

The opinions presented in this academic paper, in addition to the analyses and interpretations herein contained,
constitute the exclusive responsibility of its authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University
for Peace or the institutions it is affiliated with.

Las opiniones que se presentan en este trabajo, así como los análisis e interpretaciones que en él contienen, son
responsabilidad exclusiva de sus autores y no reflejan necesariamente los puntos de vista de UPAZ ni de las
instituciones a las cuales se encuentran vinculados.

UniversityforPeace UPEACE UPEACE01 university-for-peace universityforpeace

UPEACE Mr. Song Yanbin

China’s Foreign Policy

His Excellency Song Yanbin,
Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China in Costa Rica

Honourable Dr. Francisco Rojas Aravena, Rector of the University for Peace,
Honourable Ambassadors and members of the Costa Rican Diplomatic
Corps, dear faculty members and students of the University for Peace,
friends one and all.

Good morning. I am pleased and honoured to have been invited by Rector

Rojas to deliver this inaugural speech and share with all of you important
information on China’s peaceful, independent, and autonomous foreign
policy.

As an academic institution dependent on the United Nations, the University

for Peace – whose track record spans over 30 years – has promoted, among
all human beings, the spirit of understanding, tolerance and peaceful
coexistence and stimulated cooperation among peoples to help lessen
obstacles and threats to world peace and progress, in keeping with the noble
aspirations proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations. You have my
deepest respect for your dedication to this mission.

The topic of China’s foreign policy is quite extensive and, due to time
constraints, I have summarized it into 3 main points that will allow for a
basic understanding of this matter.

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1. China participates actively in UN causes

As one of the founding members of the UN, China has been committed
to and closely linked to this supreme international organization since its
inception. In 1945, the Chinese delegation was the first to sign the UN
Charter. In 1971, the UN General Assembly approved Resolution 2758,
which effectively restored the People’s Republic of China’s legitimate
rights before the United Nations. As a permanent member of the Security
Council, China is a firm defender of multilateralism and the strengthening
of the UN. As a cornerstone of world peace, China participates actively in
international peacekeeping missions and has deployed over 30,000 Blue
Helmets who have taken part in 29 peacekeeping missions. Currently, more
than 3,100 Chinese troops and police officers are guarding the peace in 10
areas around the world, making China a leader in this matter among the
Security Council’s permanent members.

Last year, at the UN Peacekeeping Summit, His Excellency President Xi

Jinping announced the creation of the China-UN Peace and Development
Fund in the amount of one billion dollars over ten years, intended to
support the work of the United Nations. At the same time, China created
a permanent police squad consisting of 8,000 uniformed men and women
available to participate in UN peacekeeping missions, in addition to
committing to training 2,000 Blue Helmets from other countries over the
next five years and conducting 10 demining programs. In 2008, the Chinese
Marine Corps began ordinary escort operations in the waters near Somalia
and the Gulf of Aden, and has successfully completed 800 missions in an
effort to protect 6,000 vessels belonging to both China and other nations.

On 19 September of this year, at UN Headquarters, Mr. Li Keqiang, Premier

to the State Council of China, chaired the symposium “Transforming our
world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, where he pointed
out that eradicating poverty and hunger should be taken as the top priority
and more efforts should be made to promote robust, sustainable, balanced
and inclusive economic growth as the support, as well as the importance of
forming a virtuous circle in three major fields including economy, society
and environment and setting out a path of sustainable development with
economic prosperity, social progress and a beautiful environment.

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Li Keqiang stressed that strengthening global development partnership

and working together to promote sustainable development are not only
moral obligation of the international community, but will also greatly
promote the overall development of the world. We should stick to the main
channel position of North–South Cooperation, and developed countries
should implement aid promises and support developing countries to
explore development roads conforming to their own national conditions.
Developing countries should further promote South-South Cooperation
and make efforts to achieve collective self-improvement.

2. China is permanently on the path towards peaceful development

Chinese President Xi Jinping has clearly stated that China is permanently

on the path towards peaceful development, which is neither a policy of
convenience nor diplomatic rhetoric, but a conclusion drawn based on an
objective judgment of the past, present and future. The Chinese people’s
proactive peace gene, its aspiration towards greater development, and the
current movement towards world peace, development and cooperation
have decided that China will not repeat its old colonialist ways and the
hegemonic road historically taken by some of the world’s major powers.

The Chinese nation has always been a lover of peace. Throughout its
5,000-year-old existence, Chinese civilization has always emphasized its
belief in peace, harmony and axioms such as Nothing is more precious than
peace, Be kind to others, Treat others as you would like to be treated, and A
country may be large, but it will perish if it is belligerent.

The Chinese people have opened themselves to trade with the outside
world rather than invade or expand, immersed in patriotism and their own
defence instead of colonialism and the usurpation of foreign territory. It is
well known that the famous Great Wall of China only served to defend and
not to attack. More than 600 years ago, a Chinese man named Zheng He
made 7 journeys to dozens of countries in the Pacific and Indian oceans.
Despite leading one of the most powerful fleets of his time, he did not take
any land from those countries. He sowed seeds of peace and friendship,

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leaving beautiful stories of friendly contacts and intercultural dialogue

between different peoples.

The Chinese do not have the invasive and hegemonic gene. On the other
hand, to understand why China continues on the road towards peaceful
development, one must have knowledge about the process and state of
development of the Asian country and its development objectives.

I have some figures here to give you a sensorial knowledge of China’s

development. In the almost four decades since 1978 – the year in which the
Chinese began to apply its policy of reform and aperture to the outside – the
Chinese economy has grown an average of 9.8% annually. In 1978, China’s
GDP was USD 2.1 billion, a figure that surpassed USD 10 trillion in 2014. This
allowed China to go from fifteenth to second place in the world economy
with 15% of the world’s production, up from 1.8% in 1978. Meanwhile, its
per capita income has risen from 220 U.S. dollars in 1978 to about 8,000
U.S. dollars by 2015, multiplying 36 fold. Its international reserves rose to
more than USD 3 billion from USD 168 million. China’s economy is now
more and more linked to the rest of the world. By 2015, there were larger
imports and exports of Chinese goods in the world, Chinese investments
overseas totalled USD 118 billion, more than 120 million Chinese citizens
travelled outside of China and the Chinese economy contributed 25% to the
widening global economy.

The aforementioned successes are motives for pride for the Chinese people,
but we are very aware of the difficulties and challenges found along the
way. For example, the income per capita in China is ranked 80th in the world
and is below the world average of USD 10,000. The imbalance in terms
of development remains notorious. And the disparity between different
regions and the gap between the cities and the urban areas are still very
large. More than 70 million Chinese are still affected by poverty.

Looking ahead, China is moving towards its centuries-old ambitious goals.

The first goal for the year 2021, during which the Chinese Communist
Party will celebrate its centenary, the GDP and the income per capita are
expected to double in relation to 2010, thus consolidating the construction

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of a society modestly accommodated in multiple aspects. A second goal

towards the middle half of this century, is for the country to become
a modern, prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally-advanced and
harmonious socialist nation, thus achieving the great revitalization of the
Chinese nation. Without a doubt, an international environment of peace
and stability is of vital importance.

China chooses peace and development as its main trends at all times, in
addition to promoting multi-polarization and globalization, as well as
the optimization of the world governance apparatus, all with the aim of
allowing all nations to share opportunities for development, benefits and
responsibilities.

The strategic choice of following the path of peaceful development has meant
that China continues to apply an independent and peace-driven foreign
policy, with the objective of safeguarding world peace and promoting joint
development. The basic norms are based on the 5 principles of peaceful
coexistence and the fundamental concept of self-determination, with the
main objective of defending national sovereignty, security and development
interests and to promote world peace and development.

3. Characteristics of Contemporary Chinese Diplomacy

Since the celebration of the Chinese Communist Party’s Eighteenth

National Congress – held in November 2012 – Chinese diplomacy has been
enterprising and innovative in nature. Currently, we are concentrating
our efforts on promoting large-scale (giant) diplomacy with Chinese
peculiarities, translated not only into systematic theoretical innovations,
but into practices with their own peculiarities, including the follow 5 main
connotations:

3a. First, it aims to build a community of human beings with a shared destiny
through partnerships in which countries are treated as equals; conduct

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mutual consultations and show understanding among themselves; establish

a security framework characterized by equity and justice that is shared by
all nations and to which these nations contribute; find an open, innovative,
and inclusive development perspective that is driven by mutually-beneficial
cooperation; promote a harmonious exchange among civilizations which
does not exclude differences and tolerates different views; and build an
ecosystem that prioritizes nature and ecological development.

3b. Second, its strategic priority is to persist in peaceful development. China

not only adheres to its own peaceful development, but also encourages
other countries to follow suit in order to promote peaceful development
worldwide.

3c. Third, it takes mutually-beneficial cooperation as the fundamental

principle. This in an effort to abandon ancient “zero-sum game” and
“winner takes all” mentalities, in order to open a new perspective in which
all actors emerge as winners.

3d. Fourth, it prioritizes the establishment of associations. China advocates

for the creation of associations over the forging of alliances, and dialogue
over confrontation. We have established partnerships in different ways
with more than 80 nations and regions around the world on the basis of
equality, peaceful coexistence and inclusion.

3e. Fifth, it adopts the concepts of justice and human interest as guiding
principles. We defend and promote justice in international affairs and pay
close attention to both interests and justice by prioritizing the latter in our
relations with others.

Currently, giant/large-scale diplomacy with Chinese characteristics is

being fully implemented and has many bright spots. Our interaction with
the major powers has entered a new phase. The comprehensive strategic
partnership between China and Russia is performing well. The construction
of a new model for relations between great powers such as China and
the U.S. has taken some firm steps. China and the European Union have
devoted efforts to forge a partnership that helps promote peace, economic

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growth, reforms for both parties and bilateral exchanges in different

areas. Thanks to the concepts of “friendship, sincerity, mutual benefit and
inclusion¨, good neighbourliness and friendly cooperation between China
and adjacent countries have consistently yielded new perspectives. Unity
and cooperation between China and other developing countries have been
continuously strengthened: the BRICS mechanism is now more mature and
closely-knit. With the launch of the China Forum-CELAC, we managed
to establish a comprehensive network for dialogue and cooperation that
encompasses all developing regions. Meanwhile, China has actively
participated in matters of global governance and the solutions to the most
pressing issues on both an international and regional scale. And, through a
series of important initiatives that include the construction of the Economic
Belt along the Silk Road, the Silk Maritime Route, as well as the creation
of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, China has been offering
increasingly more quality global products.

Ladies and gentlemen, friends all,

After informing you about the fundamental contents of China’s Foreign

Policy, I would like to take this opportunity to touch upon two important
topics that have received a lot of attention from the international community:
the G20 Summit in Hangzhou and the South China Sea.

On 4-5 September, China hosted the Eleventh G20 Summit in the city of
Hangzhou, a testament to the high degree of confidence deposited in
China by the international community and the sincere desire of this Asian
country to make contributions to the global community. Under the theme
“Building an innovative, strengthened, interconnected and inclusive global
economy”, leaders of the G20 Member States met with authorities from 8
guest countries and 7 international organizations and approved the Press
Release from the Eleventh G20 Summit, in addition to 28 other specific
documents. The Summit can be summarized in the following points:

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First of all, it evidenced a spirit of facing challenges together as partners. The

Pres Release stressed the need for a closer association and joint actions to
stimulate trust in global economic growth, demonstrating a shared decision
to overcome pitfalls together.

Second, it set clear orientations for the global economy. Pointing to the
weak growth in the global economy, the Summit responded by committing
to following a path of innovation and reform. Members developed a joint
project on Innovative Growth, including policies and indicators in the three
areas of innovation, new industrial revolution and digital economy. They
also approved the agenda for Accentuated Structural Reform, with an
emphasis on exploring the potential for growth in the medium and long
term through structural reforms.

Third, it allowed for work on a series of practical action plans. The Summit
gave particular importance to operationalizing and putting into practice the
achieved consensuses. In the area of development, the Summit adopted the
Plan of Action for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, taking new
steps to promote development and cooperation in the world. In the area of
trade and investment, the Summit resulted in the production of two historic
documents: one, the G20 Strategy for Global Commerce Growth, aimed at
reversing the negative trend of world trade. Another important document is
the Guiding Principles for the Design of Global Investment Policies. Several
other action plans were developed in the areas of employment, finance and
energy, etc.

Fourth, it demonstrated a willingness to pursue shared development. While

summarizing the results of the Summit, President Xi Jinping characterised it
as three “first times”: for the first time, the issue of development was placed
at the forefront of global macro-policies; for the first time, the Plan of Action
for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was developed; for the
first time, collective measures were taken to support the industrialization
of African countries and the least developed countries. This issued an
important signal that the G20 is not only concerned about its own members
but about the world as a whole, especially developed countries and their
people.

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The other subject I would like to touch upon is that of the South China Sea.
China is the first country to discover, develop, utilize, appoint and exercise
the administrative jurisdiction over the Nansha Islands. Therefore, it has
indisputable sovereignty over these islands and their adjacent waters, a fact
that was ratified by international documents such as the Cairo Declaration
and the Potsdam Proclamation, documents that remained undisputed for a
long time. After the discovery of hydrocarbon deposits in the South China
Sea in the 1970s, certain neighbouring countries began to illegally occupy
and mine Chinese islands and reefs. After the application of the U.S.’ “Pivot
to Asia” Strategy, the matter quickly gained notoriety. Territorial disputes
have been caused by the illegal occupation of Chinese islands and reefs
by adjacent countries. This is a matter between China and those countries
directly involved. However, the participation and agitation by forces
outside the region have resulted in the unduly politicization of the matter
of the South China Sea. Nevertheless, the situation remains peaceful and
stable overall, and the freedom of navigation has never become a problem.
China and the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
have reached agreements on the twin-track approach, according to which
disputes will be resolved in a peaceful manner through consultations and
negotiations between China and the nations directly involved in the dispute,
while peace and stability in the region will be held jointly by China and the
countries that make up this regional body.

As for the so-called arbitration on the South China Sea submitted

unilaterally by the previous Government of the Philippines, China has
made clear, from the beginning, its position to not accept or participate in it,
as well as to not recognize or execute its criteria due to the legal flaws of the
arbitration process. At the meeting held in July between the Foreign Affairs
Ministers of China and the countries that make up the of the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations, a joint statement was adopted to implement,
comprehensively and effectively, the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties
in the South China Sea, whereby they agreed to resolve disputes through
bilateral consultations, a matter that was later confirmed at the Summit
meeting of both parties in September. After assuming power, new Philippine
President Rodrigo Duterte showed signals of relaunching bilateral relations
with China and received well-deserved positive replies. It is safe to say that

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the page has been turned with regards to this arbitration. We are confident
in our decision to work together with the countries of the region to make
the South China Sea one of peace, friendship and cooperation.

Ladies and gentlemen, friends all,

The Costa Rican statist, former President Oscar Arias, stated that peace is
a never-ending process. It is an attitude, a way of life, a way of solving
problems and resolving conflicts. China is willing to continue working with
the international community, including Costa Rica, to defend the Charter of
the United Nations and to jointly promote world peace and development.

Thank you very much.

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