Visiting President Hu Jintao said in Pretoria on Wednesday that
China's development is peaceful, open, cooperative and harmonious
in nature.
Hu, who arrived here earlier Tuesday from the Namibian capital
of Windhoek for a three-day state visit to South Africa, made the
remarks in a speech at the University of Pretoria.
"We aim to build a harmonious society at home, and work with
other countries to build a harmonious world of enduring peace and
common prosperity," he said.
The president added that China is dedicated to peace,
development and cooperation.
"We will continue to pursue the independent foreign policy of
peace, the path of peaceful development and the opening-up strategy
for mutual benefit," Hu said.
The Chinese, as a peace-loving nation, are ready to work with
the African people to build a harmonious world of enduring peace
and common prosperity, he said.
"We believe in cooperation and harmony among nations, and we
hold that the strong and the rich should not bully the weak and the
poor," said the president.
Hu said that for more than 100 years in China's modern history,
the Chinese people were subjected to colonial aggression and
oppression by foreign powers and went through similar suffering and
agony that the majority of African countries endure.
Because of this, he said, the Chinese people are most strongly
opposed to colonialism, oppression, and slavery of all
manifestations, and have the most profound sympathy for all other
nations in their pursuit of independence, happiness and their
aspirations.
The president expressed his hope that the young people of China
and Africa will contribute to the construction of a harmonious
world.
"The young Chinese and Africans are a dynamic force in advancing
China-Africa friendship and in building a harmonious world," Hu
said.
The Chinese government sees great value in the exchanges between
Chinese and African youth and is committed to strengthening these
exchanges, he added.
Hu said China, which currently provides 2,000 government
scholarships for African students each year, will double the number
in the next three years.
The president called on China and African countries to dedicate
themselves to the "shared strategic decision and historical
mission" of renewing their traditional friendship, developing the
new type of strategic partnership, and building a harmonious
world.
"Let's join hands and work tirelessly to realize this common
vision," he said at the end of his speech.
South Africa is the sixth leg of Hu's current eight-nation
Africa tour that has already taken him to Cameroon, Liberia, Sudan,
Zambia and Namibia. Hu will also travel to Mozambique and the
Seychelles.
(Xinhua News Agency February 8, 2007)
