CANBERRA — China may be the “big guy in the crowd”, but it will never
use force to achieve its goals, including in resolving territorial
disputes, President Xi Jinpinrg told the Australian Parliament yesteday. He
noted that non-Chinese “may naturally wonder how the big guy will move
and act, and be concerned that the big guy may push them around, stand
in their way or even take up their place”.
However, he said, China remained “unshakable in its resolve to pursue
peaceful development” and hoped other countries would do the same.
In
his address to a special joint sitting of Parliament on the same day a
free trade agreement between China and Australia was announced, Mr Xi
said countries that attempted to pursue their development goals with the
use of force invariably failed. “Neither turbulence nor war serves the fundamental interests of the Chinese people.”
Mr
Xi’s speech came two days after United States President Barack Obama
called on China to pursue peaceful development and adhere to the same
rules as other countries.
The Chinese leader said he was mindful
of history’s lessons “that a war-like state, however big it may be, will
eventually fall”. While his country would seek to uphold its sovereignty, it would address territorial disputes through dialogue, Mr Xi said. China
is locked in disputes with four South-east Asian countries over lonely
outcrops in the South China Sea, and with Japan over another set of
islets in the East China Sea.
“It is China’s long-standing
position to address peacefully its disputes with countries concerned,
and territorial sovereignty and maritime interests through dialogue and
consultation. China has settled land boundary issues with 12 of its 14
neighbours through friendly consultation. And we will continue to work
in this direction,” Mr Xi said
