Full text of Hu's remarks at BRICS Leaders Meeting

SANYA, Hainan - Chinese President Hu Jintao on Thursday chaired the BRICS Leaders Meeting in South China's resort city of Sanya.

Chinese President Hu Jintao chairs the BRICS Leaders Meeting in Sanya City, South China's Hainan province, April 14, 2011.  [Photo/Xinhua]

The following is the full text of Hu's remarks.

Broad Vision, Shared Prosperity

Remarks by H.E. Hu Jintao

President of the People's Republic of China

At the BRICS Leaders Meeting

Sanya, 14 April 2011

Dear Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to meet you once again and discuss with you the plans for BRICS cooperation and development. Let me begin by extending, on behalf of the Chinese government and people and in my own name, warm welcome to all the leaders and delegates present at the meeting.

Special Coverage:  BRICS Summit 2011

The second decade of the 21st century has just begun. In the past decade, our world went through major development, major changes and major adjustments. The trend of peace, development and cooperation gained stronger momentum. The world moved further towards multi-polarity and economic globalization. New changes took place in the global economic governance and new breakthroughs were in the making in scientific and technological innovation. Emerging market economies engaged in dynamic cooperation. All these have brought valuable opportunities to the development of all countries.

On the other hand, the last decade also witnessed incessant international and regional hotspots which undermined world peace and stability. Development imbalance between the North and the South remained an acute problem. Global challenges such as climate change, environmental degradation, energy and resources security, serious communicable diseases and major natural disasters raised wide concerns. Today, we are still confronted with the underlying impact of the financial crisis. Rising commodity prices and inflationary pressure has added to the uncertainties of the world economic recovery. Global financial governance remains a daunting task. The recent political turbulence and even war in some west Asian and north African countries have affected regional stability. There is indeed a long way to go before lasting peace and common prosperity can be achieved.

Opportunities should be seized and challenges properly addressed. At this historic juncture when we usher in the second decade of the 21st century, we all need to reflect on one major topic: How to bring about a peaceful and tranquil 21st century in which humanity can enjoy common prosperity? I wish to share with you my observations in this regard.

First, we should endeavor to maintain world peace and stability. Peace and stability form the prerequisite and foundation for development. The two world wars in the last century caused mankind untold sufferings and world economic and social development severe setbacks. It is mainly due to the relatively peaceful and stable international environment that the world economy has been able to grow at a fast pace in the post-war era. The World Bank statistics show that none of the countries persistently under violent conflict has achieved the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). To maintain world peace and stability so that the people can live a happy and prosperous life is the primary responsibility for governments and leaders of all countries.

We should abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and bring into full play the central role of the United Nations and its Security Council in peace keeping, peace making and peace building. We should seek peaceful settlement of international disputes through dialogue and consultation.

All countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, are equal members of the international community. We should work for common security in a spirit of democracy, inclusiveness, cooperation and win-win progress. Internal affairs of a country should be handled independently by the country itself and international affairs should be managed collectively through consultation by all. We should be committed to multilateralism and international cooperation, and promote democracy in international relations.

We should foster an international environment that supports efforts of countries to achieve peace, stability and prosperity in the light of their national circumstances. We should respect the sovereignty of all countries and their right to choose their development paths and models in keeping with the principle of seeking common ground while shelving differences. And we should respect the diversity of civilizations and pursue common progress through mutual learning and drawing on each other's strength.

Second, we should endeavor to promote common development of all countries. The international financial crisis has aroused much thinking and discussion about world economic imbalances. In the final analysis, the biggest imbalance in the world economy is the development imbalance between the North and the South and the most fundamental problem in the world economy is the inadequate development of developing countries. Without economic development of the developing countries, there can be no sustained and stable growth in the world economy. We need to renew our commitment to the development of developing countries and promote world economic recovery and growth.

We should put in place a fair and effective global development system, enhance development institutions, increase resources for development and work to fully attain the UN MDGs. We should uphold the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" and work together to meet the global climate challenge. We should jointly uphold energy security in line with the principle of mutually beneficial cooperation, diversified development and coordinated energy supply. We should formulate a long-term international food cooperation strategy and ensure food security for all.

We should establish fair, just, inclusive and well-managed international monetary and financial systems to support global economic development and increase the say and representation of emerging markets and developing countries in these systems.