China wants peaceful solution to disputes

TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippines  â€” People’s Republic of China (PROC)  Ambassador to the Philippines Ma Keqing, in her visit to Bohol over the weekend, said that China “advocates for peaceful settlement of international disputes and regional hotspot issues.”

Keqing issued the statement during the forum of students and school officials in this city without necessarily referring to an on-going stand-off over claims of other neighboring countries on Spratly’s group of islands believed to have huge oil reserves at West Philippine Sea or South China Sea.

The diplomat, who was here for a three-day visit, did not directly mentioned the row over Spratlys all throughout her speech, but she pinned hope that China-Philippines friendship would continue and strengthened to make it a legacy of thousand years that the two countries have forged under diplomatic relations for 38 years.

China, being a responsible country, is committed to peaceful development, she said as she reiterated her country’s position of “unswerving adherence to follow the path of peaceful development” as a result of the 18th Communist Party of China National Congress held on November 2012.

She told the audience at the Bohol Cultural Center that her country is against the wanton use of force as it opposes “power policies and will never seek hegemonism or engage in expansion.

China was a victim six major wars, without mentioning specifics, and what she called “343 unequal treaties” apparently with other countries since Opium War in 1840. “Long sufferings have made China a nation of fortitude and perseverance,” she said.

Keqing even suggested that her country “stick to the win-win strategy of opening up.” It will make certain that development thrusts will bring more benefits to its neighboring countries and to contribute to world development. “China is ready to enhance friendship and cooperation with its neighbors and all other countries,” she said.

Chinese people are peace-loving and have always embraced the “time-honored quality of the Chinese nation and an important heritage of Chinese culture” such as the Great Wall of China built about 2,000 years back, said Keqing.

The ambassador took pride in China as a country with a splendid civilization, saying that the Chinese people are proud because it is the home of great inventions, such as: paper-making, printing technology, gunpowder and compass. She said Chinese culture is “both extensive and profound, presents many precious philosophies, values and ideas.”

She cited as an example Confucius’ great golden rule, “Do not do unto others what you don’t want others do unto you.” This and other philosophies have served as guide to her people such as: “harmony without uniformity,” “harmony between man and nature” and “harmony is invaluable.”

The 18th Communist Party of China National Congress has set sights for building a prosperous country “in all respects” even as it strides to double its GDP and capita per income by year 2020, Keqing said.

China’s robust economic growth is reflective to its annual growth rate of 9.9 percent since 1978, transforming the country into the second largest economy in the world with average per capita income or gross domestic products of $1,135 up to $5,432 from 2002 to 2012, she said.

The ambassador said she was touring Bohol, which she described as “like a paradise” that she wanted to promote to her countrymen.  (FREEMAN)