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Guo Wei, Head of Office of the People’s Republic of China to the State of Palestine, Delivers a Speech at the Palestinian Seminar
2022-11-06 23:46

On September 12, 2022, Guo Wei, Head of Office of the People's Republic of China to the State of Palestine, was invited to attend the online seminar on Ukraine issue held by Fatah (Palestine National Liberation Movement) and the Palestinian National Security Research Institute, and delivered a speech and exchanged views, publicizing that Chinese President Xi Jinping's Global Security Initiative has pointed out the direction for achieving common security of all countries, expounding Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi's three concerns about the current situation in Ukraine, pointing out the differences in nature between the Ukrainian issue and the Taiwan issue, and opposing the adoption of double standards on international rules. Abbas Zaki, Member of the Fatah's Central Committee and the Minister of Arab Relations Affairs and China, as well as Russian representatives in Palestine and relevant Palestinian political parties, experts and scholars attended the seminar. The full text of the speech is as follows: 

It is a great pleasure to attend today's seminar. I would like to express my gratitude for the organizers ---Fatah and the Palestinian National Security Research Institute.

Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out that in the past century, humanity have gone through the scourge of two world wars and the dark shadow of the Cold War. The tragedies of the past tell us that hegemony, group politics and bloc confrontation bring no peace or security; they only lead to wars and conflicts. The Ukraine crisis is another wake-up call for all in the world. It reminds us that blind faith in the so-called “position of strength” and attempts to expand military alliances and seek one’s own security at the expense of others will only land oneself in a security dilemma. 

History tells us that peace, which is the common cause of humanity, should be pursued and defended by all. Only when we all cherish and uphold peace and never forget the painful lessons of war can there be hope of peace. Facing a volatile and unstable world, we should stay true to the pledge of the UN Charter and fulfill the mission of maintaining peace. We in the international community should reject zero-sum games and jointly oppose hegemonism and power politics. We should build a new type of international relations based on mutual respect, fairness, justice and win-win cooperation. We should be clear that we are a community in which all countries share a common stake, and we should see that the light of peace will reach all corners of the world.

In June this year, during a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed that China has always independently assessed the situation on the basis of the historical context and the merits of Ukraine issue, actively promoting world peace and the stability of the global economic order. All parties should push for a proper settlement of the Ukraine crisis in a responsible manner. China for this purpose will  continue to play its due role in this regard. In July, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi expounded China's three concerns over the current situation in Ukraine: First, China opposes exploiting the situation to incite Cold War mentality, hype up bloc confrontation, and create a “new Cold War”. In the face of complex and severe challenges, what the world values is solidarity rather than division, and what the world needs is dialogue rather than confrontation. China will continue to unswervingly stand on the right side of history and on the side of promoting peace talks. Second, China opposes undermining China's sovereignty and territorial integrity by applying double standards. Some countries emphasize the principle of sovereignty on the Ukraine issue, but keep challenging China's sovereignty and the one-China principle on the Taiwan question, and even deliberately create tensions in the Taiwan Strait. This is obviously a blatant double standard. The Chinese side rejects any attempt to draw parallels between the Ukraine crisis and the Taiwan question, and will firmly defend its core interests. Third, China opposes undermining other countries’ legitimate rights to development. Some countries have used the Ukraine crisis as an excuse to abuse unilateral sanctions on China and other countries, which is neither justified nor legal. Such moves have undermined normal state-to-state exchanges, violated the prevailing rules of international trade, and also complicated and magnified the Ukraine crisis. All parties should jointly reject such acts and strive to build an open, fair and non-discriminatory environment for international cooperation.

Whereas individual countries reneged on their word, pushed NATO expansion eastward and brought conflict and confrontation back to Europe, China is committed to dialogue and cooperation for common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security and called for a balanced, effective and sustainable European security framework. Whereas individual countries have clamored for a fight “to the last Ukrainian” and fueled the conflict, China has actively promoted peace talks and called on the world to enable negotiations, not fighting, to continue between Russia and Ukraine. Whereas individual countries have exercised maximum pressure and sanctions, causing the crisis to spill over and spread, China has firmly opposed attempts to politicize, instrumentalize and weaponize the world economy. China stressed that what has been achieved through international economic cooperation over the decades cannot be just wiped out, still less should the ordinary people around the world bear the cost. 

China will continue to promote peace talks on the Ukraine issue and always stand on the side of peace. We look forward to peace through dialogue and consultation, a ceasefire and cessation of hostilities as soon as possible, and the prevention of a protracted and escalating conflict. We believe that serious and comprehensive dialogue should be encouraged to jointly build a balanced, effective and sustainable European security architecture. China will implement the Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping and work with all parties to build a world of peace, development, cooperation and win-win results.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pointed out that the current situation in Europe shows obvious double standards, and the international community should not  remain silent about what happened to Palestine. China advocates that the international community should not adopt double standard on the Palestinian question and other international and regional hotspot issues. It is unacceptable double standard to sympathize with refugees in Ukraine while turning a blind eye to refugees from countries in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. It is unacceptable double standard to call acts harming civilians in Ukraine war crimes, while allowing harm done to civilians in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria to go unpunished. It is unacceptable double standard to say the attacks on Ukraine undermine the principle of respect for sovereignty, while claiming the attacks on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria are legitimate and lawful. It is unacceptable double standard to stress that sovereignty is inviolable on the Ukraine issue while claiming that human rights precede sovereignty when it comes to issues related to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Iraq. The sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected. The purposes and principles of the UN Charter should be observed. The legitimate security concerns of all countries should be taken seriously. Only when double standard is discarded can regional hotspot issues be addressed in a just manner. China calls on the international community to uphold a just position and promote a comprehensive and political settlement of the Palestinian question at an early date.