NEW YORK, Sept. 28 -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday that an open and prosperous China that champions peaceful development is to bring more opportunities to the world.
"Is China who adheres to the path of peace, cooperation and opening-up an opportunity or a challenge? Is China who plays an active and constructive role in the international arena a partner or a rival? I believe anyone without bias would come to a rational conclusion," said Wang in a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank based in New York City.
China has become a staunch force in safeguarding the world peace, he said. China has solved boundary issues with the vast majority of its land neighbors, contributes more troops to UN peacekeeping missions than any other permanent member of the UN Security Council, and is the second largest fund contributor to UN peacekeeping operations.
China has become an engine that drives global growth, he said, adding that in the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 2008 international financial crisis, China has helped stabilize the world economy as a ballast.
With its transition from high-speed growth to high-quality development, China is bound to open its door increasingly wider to foreign investors, thus bringing more development opportunities to the world, he said.
China has become a model for alleviation of poverty and backwardness, Wang said. Nearly 800 million people have been lifted out of poverty in the country, accounting for more than 70 percent of the world's total.
China is actively helping other developing countries implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, he said. China's foreign aid aims to improve the self-reliance and capacity for sustainable development of the recipient countries, respecting their needs in the first place.
China has become an ally in the global anti-terrorism cause, he said. China has been actively helping countries enhance their anti-terrorism capacity, helping them eliminate the soil that breeds terrorism.
The top Chinese diplomat also said China has become a partner in mediating hot-spot issues and actively promotes contacts between the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the easing of tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Due to China's persistence and joint efforts of all parties, the situation on the peninsula has seen a major turnaround this year, he said.
China has become a major pillar of safeguarding the international order as it has actively integrated into the current international system, joined almost all important inter-governmental international organizations, playing an increasingly important role in the global governance system, he said.