RIYADH -- Visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao, in an address to Saudi Arabia's Shura consultative council here on Sunday, called for concerted efforts to build a harmonious world and promote peace and stability in the Middle East.

WORLD HARMONY

In the address to the Shura consultative council that advises the king and cabinet, Hu urged the enhancement of dialogue and cooperation among all civilizations in a bid to build a harmonious world.

Efforts should be made to enhance cooperation among all civilizations and ethnic groups to promote the great cause of mankind's peace and development, Hu said.

Hu made the remarks as he was visiting the kingdom, his second stop of a current five-nation tour, which has already taken him to the United States and will take him to Morocco, Nigeria and Kenya.

"In order to build a harmonious world, we should endeavor to preserve the diversity of civilizations and courses of development, adhere to dialogue and exchange of views between civilizations, uphold the spirit of inclusiveness, allow cultures to complement one another through competition and develop together by seeking common ground while shelving differences," the Chinese president said.

Hu said all countries should acknowledge the differences in cultural traditions, social systems, values and courses of development of other countries.

In no way should we use these differences as a pretext to point a finger at other countries' internal affairs, nor should we blame any civilization, nationality or religion for the world's existing disputes and conflicts, the president stressed.

We should go for collective progress between different cultures as to build a world where all civilizations coexist harmoniously and accommodate one another, Hu said.

In order to build a harmonious world, we should also strive for harmonious development of the global economy, Hu said.

All countries should take effective measures to push forward the global economy in a balance, reciprocal and win-win direction and make efforts to alleviate imbalance in development and eradicate poverty, the president said.

We should actively promote regional and international economic cooperation, jointly solve problems arising from global economic development and safeguard economic security, Hu said.

All countries should go for mutual openness instead of blockade and endeavor to set up a open, fair and regulated multilateral trading system so as to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results for all countries, he added.

In order to build a harmonious world, we should also commit ourselves to realizing peaceful co-existence among all countries, the president said.

All countries should abide by recognized international law and basic norms of international relations, Hu said.

All countries should abide by the principles of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression and non-interference in each other's internal affairs, and respect and preserve each country's right to independently choose its own social system and path of development, Hu said.

Multilateralism should be upheld to promote the democratization of international relations and safeguard all countries' right to equally participate in international affairs, Hu said.

We should encourage and support efforts to peacefully settle international disputes and conflicts by dialogue, consultations and negotiations, and oppose willful use or threatened use of military force, Hu said.

All countries should consolidate cooperation on an equal basis to brave global challenges, the president added.

"Building a harmonious world with a lasting peace and collective prosperity is a shared aspiration of all peoples around the world and a necessary requirement of mankind's development," the president said, calling on all members of the international community to endeavor to realize this ambition hand in hand.

The Chinese president also reviewed the time-honored friendship between China and Saudi Arabia, whose friendly cooperation in all fields, by the efforts of both countries, has witnessed steady development since their diplomatic ties were established in 1990.

Our all-round cooperation served the fundamental interests of both peoples and made significant contribution to regional and global peace and development, Hu said.

Terming China and Saudi Arabia as good friends with mutual trust and trustworthy partners, Hu expressed the hope that the two countries will make continued and joint efforts to contribute to further development of mankind.

Hu arrived in Riyadh Saturday morning for his first state visit to Saudi Arabia at the invitation of Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz.

During his three-day visit here, Hu held talks with King Abdullah later Saturday. The two leaders exchanged views on bilateral relations international and regional issues of common concern and ways to strengthen the friendly cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is now China's largest trading partner in West Asia and North Africa. In 2005, trade volume between the two countries exceeded 16 billion U.S. dollars, 56 percent up compared with the previous year.

In January, King Abdullah paid a visit to China, during which the two countries singed a number of cooperation documents.

MIDDLE EAST PEACE, STABILITY

In the address, the Chinese president said that a harmonious Middle East is in the long-term interest of the people of the region and the whole world at large, and peace and stability in the region is the common wish of the whole world.

Hu said that peace and prosperity of the world could not come without the stability and development of the Middle East, an region of great influence to the world.

After the Cold War, the Middle East region has been generally heading along a path of peace and stability, but has still faced with various challenges, with some hot issues long hanging without just and reasonable resolutions, new conflicts keeping emerging and factors of uncertainty and instability threatening regional peace and security remaining, Hu said.

All these have kept the region far from fully tapping its potential for development, Hu said.

To build a harmonious Middle East, long-term strenuous efforts could not be spared in the following aspects, Hu said.

Firstly, all parties should strive to realize regional peace and stability through strengthening consultations and negotiations on an equal footing, which are the only feasible means to settle conflicts and disputes, Hu said.

Secondly, mutual respect should be upheld. The spirit of inclusiveness must be upheld in handling differences among various civilizations in the region and jointly building a harmonious region where all civilizations coexist and accommodate each other.

Countries in the region have their own histories and cultural heritages, and the efforts and rights of different countries in the region to independently choose their own social systems and paths of development should be respected and guaranteed, said the Chinese president.

Thirdly, cooperation in development should be encouraged. Development is an important foundation and safeguard for peace and stability, which is indispensable for lasting peace, Hu said.

Development should be realized through mutually beneficial cooperation under the circumstances of globalization, Hu said, adding that such cooperation would promote understanding and friendship between various countries, and be conducive to common prosperity and therefore to lasting peace of the region and the world at large.

PEACEFUL DEVELOPMENT OF CHINA

On domestic policy, the Chinese president reaffirmed that China has chosen and will adhere to the path of peaceful development while continuing to play a constructive role on world arena.

Hu vowed that China will always uphold the banner of peace, development and cooperation, and unswervingly pursue an independent foreign policy of peace.

China will always stick to the path of peaceful development, implement its mutually beneficial and win-win strategy of opening-up, and develop mutually beneficial and friendly cooperation with all other countries on the basis of the five principles of peaceful co-existence and other universally-recognized norms governing international relations, said Hu.

China will continue to play a constructive role on world arena and work together with all other nations around the world to advance the great cause of promoting peace and development of the whole mankind, he said.

The Chinese and Arab peoples, both peace-loving peoples, have carried out various kinds of friendly exchanges throughout history, Hu said, noting that the two peoples have cultivated a profound friendship by supporting each other in their fight for independence and the improvement of their economy and the people's livelihood.

The Sino-Arab friendship and cooperation have not only benefited the common development of the two sides, but also have contributed greatly to the advancement of human society, said Hu.

He added that under the current situation, China is willing to work with all Arab countries to promote peace and stability in the Middle East, and make joint efforts with them to build a harmonious world of lasting peace and common prosperity.