Deepen Traditional Friendship and Enhance Common Development

Delivered by H.E. Mr. Tang Jiaxuan

State Councilor of the People's Republic of China

At the Joint Reception Given by the China Study Center and

The Chinese Embassy in Nepal

Kathmandu, 17 March 2006

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Friends,

I am very glad to visit Nepal, a beautiful country, at the invitation of Vice Chairman Bista of the Council of Ministers. This is my fourth visit to Nepal, and I've come to develop friendship, increase mutual trust, and expand cooperation. Over the past two days, I have held talks with the Nepalese leaders, and met with many friends. We had in-depth exchange of views on expanding the traditional and friendly relations between China and Nepal, and increased mutual understanding and reached common ground on a wide range of issues. These meetings and talks have left me with a deep impression, that is, the Nepalese people cherish their friendly ties with the Chinese people and are eager to see Nepal-China friendship flourish.

Thus, I am all the more glad to meet you here, both to renew friendship with old friends and make new ones, and I do appreciate your interest in China and your commitment to China-Nepal friendship. I wish to take this opportunity to thank the China Study Center for co-hosting this event, extend my best wishes to all the members of the Center, and express my cordial greetings to all the Nepalese friends who are committed to enhancing the friendship between our two countries.

Dear Friends,

China and Nepal are close neighbors on the two sides of the Himalayan Mountains and have a long history of friendly ties. It is said that more than two thousand years ago, Manjushri came all the way from the Wutai Mountains in China to Nepal. He cut open the mountain with his sword and drained the water from the lake, thus creating the Kathmandu Valley. This beautiful legend gives vivid expression to the ardent desire of our two peoples for friendship. Historical records show that the friendly exchanges of China and Nepal date back to as early as the mid-7th century. At that time, China and Nepal already started exchanging emissaries. Fahien, a Chinese eminent monk in the Jin Dynasty and Huen Tsang, another Chinese eminent monk in the Tang Dynastry, came to Lumbini, birthplace of Buddha, on pilgrimages. Songtsen Gompo, King of the Tubo Kingdom in the Tang Dynasty married a Nepalese princess Bhrikuti. The Nepalese artist Arniko built a Buddhist pagoda in Lhasa in the Yuan Dynasty. The White Pagoda in Beijing's Miao Ying Temple was also built under his supervision. All these stories and historical facts show that China-Nepal traditional friendship is solidly based.

The growth of China-Nepal friendship owes much to the commitment and dedication of several generations of Chinese and Nepalese leaders. Such friendship is a great asset of our two peoples. His Majesty Mahendra, His Majesty Birendra, His Majesty King Gyanendra, Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao and other leaders of our two countries, both past and present, have brought about the flowering of China-Nepal friendship with their wisdom, vision and unremitting efforts. Thanks to their untiring efforts made over half a century, exchanges and cooperation between China and Nepal in political, diplomatic, economic and trade, cultural, educational and other fields have borne rich fruit. Indeed, China and Nepal have become a model for countries of different social systems to live in friendship. President Hu Jintao and His Majesty Gyanendra met last year. They reached extensive agreement on deepening China-Nepal friendship and cooperation, which will greatly boost the growth of China-Nepal relations.

What has enabled China-Nepal friendship to maintain its strong momentum of growth over the years? The answer is that our two peoples have treated each other as equals, with trust, respect and sincerity. The Chinese Government and people firmly pursue the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, have never interfered with the internal affairs of Nepal and highly respect the mode of development chosen by the Nepalese people. We consistently support Nepal in its effort to safeguard sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. Nepal is a sovereign country, and its internal affairs shall not be interfered with in any way by any outside forces. We believe that the Nepalese Government and people have the political wisdom and capabilities to solve their own problems. On our part, we appreciate the understanding, solidarity and support that the King, Government and people of Nepal have given to China in its endeavor for peaceful development. In particular, we highly appreciate the strong support Nepal has given to us over the years on the questions of Taiwan and Tibet and other major issues related to China's sovereign rights and interests. I am confident that as both China and Nepal are committed to abiding by the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, increasing mutual trust, and maintaining close cooperation, China-Nepal friendship will continue to flourish.

Dear Friends,

As we look across the globe, we can see that peace, stability, cooperation and development are the calling of the times and the common aspiration of mankind. Both China and Nepal face a historical opportunity to develop ourselves. We should seize the opportunity, build on past achievements and press ahead to bring China-Nepal good-neighborliness, friendship and cooperation to a new height.

The Chinese Government will continue to pursue a policy of friendship towards Nepal and place high importance on developing the comprehensive and friendly relations with Nepal. We are committed to developing friendship and partnership with our neighbors, and strive to become a good neighbor, partner and friend of them. This is a solemn and long-term pledge of the Chinese Government. China will never change its friendly policy towards Nepal irrespective of changes both internationally and in our two countries.

The Chinese Government is committed to pursuing cooperation with Nepal in all areas. As developing countries, China and Nepal are both faced with the arduous tasks of economic and national development. Strengthening cooperation of mutual benefit and promoting common development are our shared aspirations and serve our mutual interests. China is ready to increase friendly exchanges with the Nepalese royal family, government, political parties and people of all walks of life, and expand bilateral exchanges and cooperation in politics, economy, trade, culture and tourism. China will continue to support economic and social development in Nepal to the best of its capacity. Starting from July 1st this year, the Chinese Government will provide zero-tariff treatment to some export from Nepal.

Chinese President Hu Jintao explicitly declared at the 2005 UN World Summit last year that the Chinese Government would pledge USD 10 billion worth of soft loans to developing countries to help them with their economic development in 3 years to follow. Nepal has been listed as one of our target countries.

The Chinese Government and people sincerely wish to see peace and prosperity in Nepal. We sincerely hope that all constitutional forces in Nepal will set store by the fundamental interest of the country and people, and seek to appropriately settle the current difficulties and problems through dialogues, based on the maintenance of Nepal's independence, sovereignty and national unification. A Nepal of peace, reconciliation and amity, enjoying stability, development and prosperity serves the fundamental interests of its people and will promote regional peace, stability and development. What has happened in many other countries shows that stability is crucial for a country to achieve its goal of promoting social and economic development and improving life for its people. This is something we in China have learned in our own development endeavor.

Dear Friends,

South Asia is close to China. We are glad to see that, thanks to the concerted efforts made by the parties concerned, South Asia continues to move in the right direction, marked by steady economic growth, deepening regional cooperation and growing international status. China sincerely hopes to see political stability, social harmony and economic prosperity in South Asia, and amicable coexistence, strong cooperation and common development among South Asian countries. We value our friendly relations and cooperation with all countries in the region and are working to advance cooperation and promote common prosperity with them on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. We support the regional cooperation process, and are ready to participate in this process at both the regional and sub-regional level. We welcome the recent SAARC summit decision to accept China as an observer to the organization. China is ready to establish formal ties with SAARC at an early date, and enter into cooperation with it on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, thus contributing to the regional cooperation process and common development.

Dear Friends,

By embarking on the reform and opening-up program over the past two decades and more, China has found a path of development suited to its national conditions and made remarkable achievements in social and economic development. We have thus accomplished a historic transition from ensuring basic living needs of our people to making them enjoy moderate prosperity. Still, China, a country with a huge population but a weak economic foundation, faces tremendous challenges in terms of employment, poverty alleviation, resources depletion and environmental protection. We are using a scientific outlook to guide China's overall social and economic development, promoting the comprehensive, balanced and sustainable development of China's social and economic development by adhering to the principle of putting people first in a concerted effort to build a harmonious socialist society. This will necessarily be a long-term process. In the foreseeable future, we will focus all efforts and resources on promoting development.

Just a few days ago, the Fourth Session of the Tenth National People's Congress and the Fourth Session of the National Committee of the Tenth Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference were concluded in Beijing. The central task of these two meetings was to deliberate on, for approval, the Eleventh Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development (2006-2010). Premier Wen Jiabao delivered the Report on the Work of the Government, which included an Explanation of the Outline of Eleventh Five-Year Plan. His report was endorsed by all those who attended the two sessions. China's annual average GDP growth is set over the next five years at 7.5%. By 2010, it is expected that China's per capita GDP will have doubled that of 2000 and reached RMB19,270. At the same time, the Chinese Government will focus more on energy conservation and environmental protection. In the next five years, China's energy consumption per unit of GDP will be reduced by 20%, and the emission of major pollutants cut by 10%. The Chinese Government will also adopt major steps to improve rural infrastructure, narrow the gap between rich and poor, develop education and public health capacity, promote the balanced development of the eastern, central and western regions, strengthen the nation's capacity for independent innovation in science and technology, deepen reform and open up itself still further to the outside world. These ambitious goals that the Chinese Government and people have set for themselves show that they are fully confident about and capable of implementing a scientific outlook of development, and put China's economy and society on a track of people-oriented, all-round, coordinated and sustainable development.

Dear friends,

China has embarked upon a path of peaceful development and is pursuing a development model which is peaceful, inclusive in nature and is based on cooperation. It is not accidental that China has chosen this course of development. This choice is dictated by both China's national condition and its history and culture, and is in conformity with global trends. We will never stray from this course. We are convinced that China's development will bring more opportunities to Nepal and promote the common development of our two countries. And we look forward to working with Nepal to make greater contribution to world peace, stability and prosperity through our own development.

Thank you all.