The Chinese people have always celebrated and striven to pursue the vision of peace, amity and harmony. China has never and will never invade or bully others, or seek hegemony. China is always a builder of world peace, contributor to global development, defender of the international order and provider of public goods. China will continue to bring the world new opportunities through its new development.

In 2023, we look forward to a more peaceful and stable world free from war and conflict. Peace, like air and sunshine, is hardly noticeable when we benefit from it. But none of us can live without it. Preserving peace requires the concerted efforts of us all. China will remain committed to an independent foreign policy of peace and to the path of peaceful development. China’s development will always be a boost to the force for peace in the world. We call on all countries to pursue common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, resolve conflicts and disputes through negotiation and consultation, and support all efforts that are conducive to peaceful settlement of crises, to light up the world with the sunshine of peace.

The world has entered a new period of fluidity and change. Peace and development faces daunting challenges and the international community needs to jointly respond to the changes of the world, the times and history. China has always been committed to its foreign policy goals of upholding world peace and promoting common development, and it is dedicated to promoting a human community with a shared future. More than anything else, we Chinese hope to see peace and stability. To follow the path of peaceful development is a strategic choice made by us in the fundamental interests of the Chinese people. No matter how the international landscape may evolve, we will stay committed to peace, development, cooperation, and delivering mutual benefit. We will strive to safeguard world peace and development as we pursue our own development, and we will make greater contribution to world peace and development through our own development.

China is committed to promoting world peace and development with concrete actions. The Communist Party of China, uniting and leading the Chinese people in concerted efforts of several generations, has successfully blazed a Chinese path to modernisation. One distinctive feature of the Chinese path is peaceful development. This is an invaluable guide for our way forward that we have developed through years of hardships and dedicated efforts.

Being part of the world with eight billion people, China will always stay committed to defending world peace, promoting common development, and building a human community with a shared future, and continue to put our own development in the bigger context of human development. This way, we can bring more opportunities to the world and make greater contribution to human progress.

Second, Chinese modernisation has contributed significantly to safeguarding world peace. Peaceful development is enshrined in China's constitution. We firmly pursue a national defense policy that is defensive in the first place and have endeavoured to safeguard world and regional security.

Facing a complex and volatile international security situation, the Chinese government and armed forces stay committed to regional and world prosperity and stability. Those who are familiar with China’s modern history must know that the country was once poor and weak and went through enormous misery. The Chinese people know very well the value of peace and the cruelty and destructiveness of war. Over the years some have been recklessly hyping up, exaggerating and dramatising the China threat theory, partly due to the lack of understanding of China’s history, culture and policies, but more likely due to misunderstanding, prejudice or even a hidden agenda of their own.

I once read a line written by Chinese soldier on his mission. And here I quote, “If people ask why go into such dangerous places to keep peace, please tell them someone must step forward to safeguard the fundamentals of human civilization.” This is a simple wish of a Chinese soldier. It is also a solemn commitment made by the Chinese military to the world.

China’s development is fundamentally about the happiness of the people and rejuvenation of the nation. China has always been a force for world peace, a contributor to global development, a defender of the international order, a provider of public goods and part of the mediation efforts on hotspot issues. This is the reality known to the international community.

China’s foreign policy stands for world peace and common development. China is committed to friendly cooperation with countries across the world. Facts have shown that China’s development contributes to the world’s force for peace. It energizes and creates opportunities for global development.

China pursues a defense policy that is defensive in nature. This is out of the need for safeguarding state sovereignty and territorial integrity and maintaining lasting peace and stability for the country. China has never invaded any country nor has it stationed a single soldier abroad. However, there are still some people around the world who keep spreading the fallacy of the "China threat", arguing that a stronger China will threaten others and become a destabilizing factor in the Asia-Pacific region. I believe these people have ulterior motives. They are not happy to see China in development and progress. As is known to all, China's modern history is one that saw its territories ceded and its people subjected to foreign aggression, plunder and enslavement.

The goal of China’s diplomacy today is to work towards world peace and promote global development. We value the role of science and technology in diplomacy.

As a responsible member of the international community, China has always been a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development and a defender of international order, a fact that has been widely recognized in the international community.

China is committed to upholding peace and security in Asia and supports the gradual development of a regional security architecture that meets the reality of the region and the needs of various parties.