Chinese Premier Li Qiang began his remarks to the UN General Assembly by referencing the 80th anniversary of both the victory over fascism in World War II and the founding of the United Nations. The founding of the UN “initiated a historic experiment to escape the law of the jungle, and marked the beginning of an extraordinary journey, i.e. building the postwar international order and pursuing peace and development,” he said. Looking back over these 80 years, we can see that, while the world has changed enormously, “the ideal of making it a better place remains unchanged.”
Li proceeds to point out lessons that the world has learned since. These include: “Peace and development are the strongest aspirations shared by the people of all countries”; “solidarity and cooperation are the most powerful drivers for human progress”; and “fairness and justice are the most important values pursued by the international community … when might dictates right, the world risks division and regression; when fairness and justice prevail, societies enjoy stability and thrive.”
Li then warns: “Should the era of the law of the jungle return and the weak be left as a prey to the strong, human society would face even more bloodshed and brutality.… Humanity has once again come to a crossroads. Anyone who cares about the state of affairs in the world would want to ask: Why couldn’t we humans, having emerged from tribulations, adopt a greater sense of conscience and rationality, and treat each other with kindness and coexist in peace?” He implores that we not let the “ardent passion and dedication of our forefathers in founding the UN” fade into history.
The Chinese Premier referenced a Chinese saying that says we must never forget where we came from, noting that he saw the over 190 flags outside the UN, along with the sculpture of a sword being beaten into ploughshares, as the original intention of the UN. Li discussed the four proposals of Chinese President Xi Jinping—the Global Security Initiative, Global Development Initiative, Global Civilization Initiative, and now the Global Governance Initiative—and noted that these underline China’s willingness to take concrete steps to “promote world peace and development.”
He concluded with the call: “China hopes to work with the rest of the world to uphold the ideals of the UN, carry forward the spirit of multilateralism, actively implement the four major global initiatives, advance toward the lofty goal of building a community with a shared future for humanity, and make our world a more harmonious and beautiful place.”
