Xi calls for new-type int'l relations

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech at at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations on Mar 23, 2013. [Photo/Xinhua]

MOSCOW - Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday called for building a new type of international relations with win-win cooperation at the core.

Delivering a speech at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Xi expounded on China's view on the current international situation and its position on international relations.

The Chinese leader stressed that China will unswervingly follow the path of peaceful development and steadfastly develop its comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination with Russia.

Xi, accompanied by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets and the institute's President Anatoly Torkunov, spoke to a packed auditorium.

"We are now living in a rapidly changing world...Peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit have become the trend of our times," Xi said.

"To keep up with the times, we cannot have ourselves physically living in the 21st century, but with a mindset belonging to the past, stalled in the old days of colonialism, and constrained by zero-sum Cold War mentality," Xi said.

"People of all nations should combine their efforts to safeguard world peace and promote common development," Xi said.

Meanwhile, Xi said China believes that it is up to the people of a country to choose their own path of development and that people worldwide can share the fruits of development and security.

In the face of complex security threats, one country cannot act alone and it is even worse if it is obsessed with military options," he said. "The only right choice is to achieve collective and common security through cooperation."

Xi said the international community should stand by the democratic principles governing world affairs, under which the fate of the world lies in the hands of all people in the world, the internal affairs of a sovereign nation is decided by its government and people, and world affairs are managed by governments and their people through consultations.

Xi said China has mapped out its development blueprint at the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) held in November.

The Chinese people fully understand that only through continuous and arduous efforts can the goals set in the blueprint be reached, he added.

Xi reaffirmed that China will stick to peaceful development, saying that the Chinese people love peace, deeply appreciate the value of peace and also need a peaceful environment to build their nation.

He also called on other countries to adopt peaceful development.

Xi said that China's development, as outlined in the notion of the Chinese dream, will not only benefit the Chinese people, but also the people of all countries.

On China-Russia ties, Xi stressed that the two countries, as each other's biggest neighbors, have a lot in common on national development, and that the Chinese people wish Russia realize its goals at an early date.

The China-Russia relationship is the most important one in the world and also the best one between major powers, Xi said, noting that a high-level and strong China-Russia relationship is not only in the interests of both countries, but also serves as an important guarantee of international strategic balance and world peace and stability.

Xi raised a three-point proposal on developing bilateral ties under the new circumstances.

Firstly, the two countries should be firmly committed to developing a future-oriented relationship, always be each other's good neighbor, friend and partner, and support each other in protecting their core interests and dealing with its internal affairs.

Secondly, they should be firmly committed to developing a relationship of win-win cooperation by creating more converging interests and openning up more areas for cooperation to constantly push their practical cooperation to a higher level.

Thirdly, they should be firmly committed to developing friendship between the two peoples. For China and Russia, both having a long history and splendid culture, cultural and people-to-people exchanges are irreplaceable in enhancing friendship.

Speaking to the two countries' youth, Xi said the young people are the future of their countries and the world, and they are also the future of the cause of building friendship between China and Russia.

"I am looking forward to seeing more and more Chinese and Russian young people take over the task and devote themselves to the cause of developing friendship between the two peoples," he said.

In conclusion, the Chinese leader expressed the belief that China-Russia ties would enjoy sound development, better benefiting the two peoples and better promoting world peace and security.

The Moscow State Institute of International Relations, set up in 1944, was a prestigious institution that specializes in training Russian diplomats.