Deng Xiaoping Anthology: The Collector's Edition

Author: Deng Xiaoping
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-01-01
Features: Excerpt: Establishing a New International Order Based on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence (December 21, 1988)
China and India share a common responsibility to humanity: to utilize the current favorable international environment for peace to develop themselves. Why is this so? Because China and India together have a population of 1.8 billion, accounting for more than one-third of the world's total population. Currently, the world faces two major issues: peace and development. Peace holds hope, but the issue of development has not yet been resolved. People often talk about the prominence of the North-South issue, but in my view, this is the issue of development. I have told many foreign friends on multiple occasions that this issue must be understood from the perspective of human development.
The reality is that only a quarter of the world's population lives in developed countries, while the remaining three-quarters live in developing or underdeveloped countries. Although the international community has proposed solving the North-South issue, how many years has it been? The gap between the North and the South has not narrowed but has instead widened, and this gap continues to grow larger. Our two countries are part of the largest group among the three-quarters of the world's population. In recent years, there has been a discussion that the 21st century will be the century of Asia-Pacific. As if such a century is about to arrive. I disagree with this view. If we exclude the United States, the more developed regions in the Asia-Pacific include Japan, the Four Little Dragons, and Australia and New Zealand, with a population of no more than 200 million. Even if we include the Far East of the Soviet Union, the western region of the United States, and Canada, the population would still be around 300 million. But the combined population of China and India is 1.8 billion. If China and India do not develop, then it cannot be called the century of Asia. A true Asia-Pacific century or Asian century will only arrive when China, India, and other neighboring countries develop. This is like Brazil not developing not being the century of Latin America. Therefore, the issue of development should be recognized from the perspective of all of humanity, and problems and solutions should be observed and addressed from this height. Only in this way can it be understood that the issue of development is not only the responsibility of developing countries but also the responsibility of developed countries. History has proven that the richer a country is, the less generous it becomes. Ultimately, we must rely on ourselves to escape poverty and develop. We must rely primarily on ourselves, but at the same time, we should not close ourselves off from the world; we can seek friends in various ways. We welcome cooperation between developed countries and us, and we also welcome cooperation among developing countries themselves. The latter cooperation is particularly important. Especially for populous developing countries, they must have their own sound policies. China is implementing the reform and opening-up policy, aiming to develop within the next 50 to 70 years. If China and India develop, then we can say that we have made contributions to humanity. Precisely under this great goal, the Chinese government has proposed that all developing countries should improve their relations with each other and strengthen cooperation. China and India, in particular, should do this. This is the idea of our government. The overall situation in the world is changing, and countries are considering corresponding new policies to establish a new international order. Hegemonism, group politics, or treaty organizations are no longer viable. Then, what principles should guide new international relations? Recently, I have discussed this issue with some foreign leaders and friends. Currently, there are two things that need to be done simultaneously: establishing a new international political order and establishing a new international economic order. Regarding the new international economic order, as early as 1974, when I spoke at the United Nations, I spent a lot of time discussing this issue. We have been raising this issue, and we will continue to do so in the future. As for the new international political order, I believe that the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence jointly proposed by China and India have stood the test of time. The creators of these principles were Premier Zhou Enlai and Premier Jawaharlal Nehru. These five principles are very clear, concise, and straightforward. We should use the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence as the guiding for international relations. We recommend these principles to the international community to guide international relations, first of all, our relations with each other must follow these principles, and our relations with neighboring countries must also follow these principles. From our own perspective, the relations between our two countries and their neighboring countries should be adjusted. I have proposed this suggestion, and I ask you to consider it. This is a great thing, and there will be many who do not agree, but with high wisdom and strategic courage, it can certainly be accomplished. I think we should first reflect the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence in the joint news release of your visit. The world is changing, and people's thoughts must change as well. Due to past mistakes, especially during the "Cultural Revolution," China lost about 20 years of construction time. After the overthrow of the "Gang of Four," various things in our country have been changing. The shift from class struggle to the focus on four modernizations, from stagnation and closure to reform and opening-up, and the various reforms currently underway are all changes. I think you may also encounter this issue. Development requires change; without change, there can be no development.