PRESS RELEASE
China’s President Xi Makes Strategic Intervention into Imperial Camp, Addressing the Australian Parliament
Nov. 17, 2014 (EIRNS)—At the invitation of Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, China’s President Xi Jinping took his proposal for a new order in Asia to the representatives of the Australian people. President Xi was invited by Prime Minister Tony Abbott to address the Commonwealth Parliament in Canberra. In his speech to the Parliament, President Xi reiterated some of the fundamental principles of Chinese policy toward the world, underlining China’s wish to use the development of China to create development in the region and in the world. He praised Australia’s high-tech industries, and noted the friendly contacts between China and Australia since the early 19th century when Chinese first began to settle in the country, and the common fight of the two nations during two world wars. He praised Prime Minister Abbott’s role in organizing the G20 meeting, and called for Australia to play a greater role in Asia. Xi used humor and personal anecdotes to connect with the MPs and to the people viewing the broadcast of the event. Xi said that he had been in Australia five times since his first visit in 1988, and had visited all of the states of the Commonwealth, except for Tasmania, which he would visit on this trip. "Perhaps I can receive a certificate for having covered all the states," he joked, to the general merriment of his listeners.
Xi noted three general attitudes exhibited toward China. One was a positive attitude to China, and he singled out a few people in the audience who had worked for years in improving China-Australian relations. Then there were people who were somewhat concerned about China’s future role. And thirdly, there were the people who simply don’t like China and will always criticize it. Xi said that he understood the concerns of the second group. "China is a large country of over 1.3 billion people. It is like a big guy in the crowd," Xi said. "Others will 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 take up their place," he said. He then went on to explain China’s policy. Firstly, that China is unshakeable in its commitment to peaceful development. "China is dedicated to upholding peace," he said. "There is only one trend in today’s world, and that is peace, development, and win-win cooperation. Those who follow it will prosper, and those who go against it will perish."
China had been suppressed for years, he said, and "we will never subject others to this ordeal." He also noted that "our forefathers 2000 years ago realized that a state based on violence will always fail. And we have seen in history the demise of all such empires based on violence." "China is dedicated to maintaining peace, because those who follow the peaceful way will always succeed," Xi said. Lastly, he said China is pursuing a policy of "common development of all peoples." "We will never develop at the expense of others," he said. He warned, however, that "development is not assured," but that China was determined to "work together with others to open up development for others."
He also said that China, a great trading nation, was intent on maintaining freedom of navigation, while at the same time preserving China’s territorial integrity. "We hold that countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, are all equal," Xi said, and that "a big country should not bully others, but neither should a small country provoke others. A country should be judged not by its size but by whether its actions are compatible with international justice," he said. Xi’s speech was greeted with overwhelming applause from the MPs and others gathered there. The Australian press is also reported to have covered Xi’s speech very positively, contrasting the tone of the speech to the strident tones taken earlier by Barack Obama in his speech to the Australian university students. China and Australia inked a free-trade agreement today, an agreement which has been nine years in the making. While it still requires ratification from the Commonwealth Parliament, it has garnered a great deal of support. The two also agreed to upgrade their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
