On November 28, 2022, Chinese Ambassador to Canada, H. E. CONG Peiwu delivered a speech entitled "China and the World in the New Era: Openness, Inclusion, and Win-win Cooperation" at the University of Ottawa. The main content of the speech is as follows.

Boasting a time-honored history and a wealth of talents, the University of Ottawa is the largest English-French bilingual university in the world. It is my honor to have the opportunity to talk with you at the University of Ottawa. 

The international community has been paying closer attention to China in recent years. How to understand China, especially the relationship between China and the outside world, has become the focus of international attention. Here, I would like to take this opportunity to share my views with Four Versus, which I hope to provoke more in-depth thinking.

First, “Democracy V.S. Authoritarian”.

Some Westerners accused China of “authoritarianism”, claiming that the relationship between the West and China is one of “democracy versus authoritarianism”. No two leaves in the world are identical. All countries develop their governance models in accordance with their own histories, cultures, traditions and social realities through long-term practice, which inevitably ends up with diversity in governance models. The statement of “democracy versus authoritarianism” labels China from an ideological perspective, and deliberately ignores the diversity of governance models in the real world. 

Democracy is not a patent of Western countries, but a common value of humanity and an ideal that has always been cherished by the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese people. China’s modern history is marked by the Chinese people’s continuous exploration and development of a democratic path suited to China’s specific conditions. 

As Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out, democracy is not an ornament to be used for decoration; instead, it is to be used to solve the problems that the people want to solve. What China is now implementing is whole-process people’s democracy, which integrates process-oriented democracy with results-oriented democracy, procedural democracy with substantive democracy, direct democracy with indirect democracy, and people’s democracy with the will of the state. 

The drafting of the report to the recently concluded 20th CPC National Congress fully exemplifies democracy in China.  President Xi Jinping chaired several meetings to review it, and presided over a symposium attended by non-CPC figures. We also openly solicited opinions from the whole CPC and the general public through various channels. Over 8.54 million suggestions of various kinds,  have been collected through online platforms alone, and a considerable part of these suggestions played an important role in the drafting of the report. 

In the process of lawmaking, China has faithfully implemented whole-process people’s democracy, and continues to broaden the ways and channels for citizens to participate in the legislative process in an orderly manner. In the past 10 years, a total of 205 draft laws have been made available for public consultation on the official website of the National People's Congress of China, China’s top legislature, with more than 3.5 million comments. 

Furthermore, 22 local legislative outreach offices have been set up by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress since 2015. Over the past seven years, nearly 12,000 opinions and suggestions related to more than 130 draft laws have been directly solicited from the public through these outreach offices and over 2,400 of them were adopted to varying degrees. Through this mechanism, what the people have to say can go straight to the highest national legislature. 

Whole-process people’s democracy practiced in China is based on the country’s reality, history and culture, and reflects people’s will. A Harvard University survey that continued for over a decade has found that Chinese citizens’ satisfaction with the CPC and the Chinese government has exceeded 90 percent for more than ten years. 

Dismissing forms of democracy that are different from one’s own is in itself undemocratic. It is thus clear that any attempt to divide the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese government from the Chinese people is either due to ignorance or out of prejudice. It is doomed to fail. On the basis of equality and mutual respect, China is ready to actively conduct dialogue with all other parties, but firmly opposes interference in China’s internal affairs under the pretense of the so-called democratic and human rights issues.

Second, “Monism V.S. Pluralism”.

Recently, the Clash of Civilizations narrative has gained some momentum again. Someone, proceeding from “civilizational rivalry”, played up the “China threat theory”. The logic behind the Clash of Civilizations is a monistic view of civilizations. Today in the 21st century, to play up the narrative of the Clash of Civilizations is to turn back the wheel of history. History has proved that an open and inclusive civilization will last while a self-absorbed and arrogant one will only be a “flash in the pan”.

China always believes in equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness between different civilizations. A world of peace and development should embrace civilizations of various forms, and must accommodate diverse paths to modernization. “Exchange of civilizations”, rather than “clash of civilizations”, is the only right choice. All countries around the world should actively promote mutual understanding among peoples and respect the diversity of civilizations in the world. Likewise, all countries should overcome estrangement between civilizations with exchanges, prevent their clash with mutual learning, and overcome a false sense of superiority with coexistence, so as to rise to the global challenges together.

“All roads lead to Rome”, whereas “the proper road comes first among thousands of them”. We are deeply aware that to adhere to and develop Marxism, we cannot treat Marxism as an unchanging dogma, but must integrate the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and fine traditional culture. For example, many traditional Chinese political principles and concepts such as “pursuing common good for all”, “regarding the people as the foundation of the state”, and “acting in good faith and being friendly to others”, are highly consistent with the values and propositions of Scientific Socialism. So it is no wonder that Marxism can flourish in China.

Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, especially reform and opening-up in 1978, China has, through a long-term exploration and practice, found a path to modernization, that is, “Chinese modernization”.

Chinese modernization is socialist modernization pursued under the leadership of the CPC. It contains elements that are common to the modernization processes of all countries, and yet it is more characterized by features that are unique to the Chinese context, which creates a new form of human civilization and provides a new option for humankind to achieve modernization.  

——It is the modernization of a huge population. To date, no more than 30 countries, with a total population of less than one billion, have achieved industrialization. Against this backdrop, the modernization of China, a country with over 1.4 billion people, will be of epoch-making importance in human history. 

——It is the modernization of common prosperity for all. China ensures that no one is left behind on the way towards prosperity. In the past decade, China lifted nearly 100 million impoverished people in rural areas out of poverty, eradicating absolute poverty for the first time in Chinese history. 

——It is the modernization of material and cultural-ethical advancement. China will keep raising people’s living standards and enriching their lives, so that every family will enjoy a decent life and everyone will be imbued with a strong sense of moral integrity. 

——It is the modernization of harmony between humanity and nature. With a commitment to green development, China upholds the principle that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets. In the past ten years, the natural populations of more than 300 kinds of rare and endangered wild animals and plants in China have recovered and increased. 

——It is the modernization of peaceful development. China has always pursued its own development while firmly safeguarding world peace and development. China insists on dialogue rather than confrontation and partnership rather than alliance. China is the only country in the world that has incorporated “adhering to the path of peaceful development” into its constitution, and will always be a force protecting and maintaining world peace. No matter what stage of development the country may reach, China will never seek hegemony or engage in expansionism. 

There are concerns about China exporting its model. China’s position is consistent and clear. China does not import any model from other countries, nor does China export its own to others. Western countries choose capitalism, while China chooses socialism. This difference has existed since the founding of the PRC in 1949 and will continue. The Canadian system and model are the choice of the Canadian people, while the socialist system with Chinese characteristics is the choice of the Chinese people. 

All parties should recognize and respect the differences, abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, especially the principle of non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs, and respect the institutional models and development paths chosen by each country. We should engage in exchanges and learn from each other, and jointly promote the progress and development of humankind.

Third, “Opportunity V.S. Threat”.

The so-called “China threat” has become a pet phrase of some Western politicians. Whenever they mention China, they talk about “China threat”. Certain countries are keen to create exclusive cliques, stoke decoupling and breakage of industrial and supply chains, build “a small yard with high fences”, push for “friend-shoring”, form the Chip 4 Alliance, and conceive an exclusive economic framework. 

In recent years, the United States has concocted the Indo-Pacific Strategy under the banner of “freedom and openness”, but in essence, it attempts to make Asia-Pacific countries “pawns” of U.S. hegemony, trying to provoke tensions and mess up the Asia-Pacific region after having messed up other regions. 

Unfortunately, it seems that Canada has followed the U.S. practice of creating division and fomenting confrontation in the region. It launched the Canadian version of the "Indo-Pacific Strategy" yesterday. Of course, it is up to each government to decide what kind of policies they will have, but what concerns us is that when comes to China, it distorted facts, hyped up the so-called "China threat" and infringed upon China’s internal affairs. We firmly oppose it. Facts have proved time and again that China’s development is an opportunity, not a threat. 

China is an important engine driving global growth. According to the World Bank’s latest report, China’s contributions to global economic growth from 2013 to 2021 averaged 38.6 percent, exceeding that of the G7 countries combined. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has become the most popular international public good. The study released by the World Bank showed that, if implemented fully, the initiative could lift 32 million people out of moderate poverty—those who live on less than 3.2 US dollars a day. In addition, it could boost global trade by up to 6.2 percent.

The world’s first import-themed expo, the China International Import Expo(CIIE) is a concrete practice of China's commitment to opening-up and sharing China's development opportunities with the world. More than 60 Canadian companies took part in this year's CIIE, including many "old friends". Canadian company CAC Enterprises Group, which is engaged in environmental protection and sustainable health industry, has participated for five consecutive years and signed a contract of  20.5 million US dollars this year.

I would like to give another example here. High-quality Afghan pine nuts have long been unable to find a market. The CIIE in 2021 offered a sales platform to the pine nuts, and the first batch of one hundred and twenty thousand cans of Afghan pine nuts were sold out quickly at the CIIE. Over the past year, China has imported more than 2,100 tons of Afghan pine nuts, effectively helping the Afghan people improve their lives. In contrast, the U.S. government announced that it had frozen 7 billion US dollars assets of the Afghan central bank and even claimed the money of the Afghan people as its own.

In its "Indo-Pacific Strategy", the Canadian side wrongly claimed that China is an “increasingly disruptive global power”. This runs counter to facts and does not hold water. China firmly supports the international system with the United Nations at its core and  has always adhered to true multilateralism.

 China is committed to putting development at the centerpiece on the international agenda. President Xi Jinping has proposed the Global Development Initiative, and helped accelerate the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in a bid to promote stronger, greener and healthier global development. China and Africa have jointly launched the Initiative on Partnership for Africa's Development. China has set up more than 3,500 enterprises of different types in Africa, directly and indirectly creating millions of jobs for Africa. Chinese enterprises also have helped African countries build and upgrade nearly 100 ports, nearly 1,000 bridges, more than 10,000 km of railroads and nearly 100,000 km of roads with various types of funds. 

China is actively promoting international security cooperation, and President Xi Jinping has proposed the Global Security Initiative, emphasizing that security is a prerequisite for development and that we humanity are living in an indivisible security community. China has dispatched over 50,000 peacekeepers to UN peacekeeping missions, is the second largest contributor to UN peacekeeping, and has altogether contributed more peacekeepers than any other permanent members of the UN Security Council. 

How can these be “disruptive”?

Seclusion holds a country back, while openness enables it to move forward. China and Canada are both open economies and beneficiaries of globalization and the multilateral trading system. We should continue to jointly uphold principles and practices that are conducive to advancing globalization and benefiting all parties. We should not allow political maneuvers such as decoupling and breakage of supply and industrial chains to interfere with the normal operation of the global industrial and supply chains. We should not allow unilateral bullying to undermine normal international economic exchanges. 

Fourth, Interests V.S. Responsibility.

The world has witnessed increasing extreme climate events these years. During the summer of 2022, Europe saw several heat waves, while some South Asian countries witnessed flooding. Canada's east coast was also ravaged by Hurricane Fiona. In 2021 alone, weather and water-related hazards caused total damage of 35.6 billion US dollars, affecting nearly 50 million people, according to the latest report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). Climate change has become a global challenge that cannot be overlooked.

Amid the geopolitical conflicts and energy crisis, some countries seem to give weight to short-term interests instead of their international responsibilities. COP27 has just concluded in Egypt. The Conference has seen substantive progress in adaptation, loss and damage, which are among the biggest concern to developing countries, and agreed to create a “loss and damage” fund, which is a highlight. It is hoped that developed countries will make good on the promise of 100 billion US dollars a year in climate finance for developing countries at an early date.

Global warming is driven by the greenhouse gas emissions. Developed countries have emitted greenhouse gases in the process of industrialization over the past 200 years and more. The per capita CO2 emission of the US is eight times that of China. Developed countries should set good examples and faithfully fulfill their historical responsibilities and international obligations. What the world needs is less finger-pointing or blame game, but more solidarity and cooperation. Promises matter, but actions matter even more. 

Some people questioned China's position on the issue of climate change, saying what China has done is not enough. These claims give a distorted image of China's position and ignored China's endeavor. The Chinese side believes that interests and responsibilities are the two sides of the same coin. 

So far, China has made tangible progress in this regard. A decade ago, Beijing was plagued by heavy smog. Thanks to China's unremitting efforts, there were 288 days with good air quality in Beijing in 2021, with blue skies and white clouds occurring frequently. China has contributed a quarter of the world's new forestland over the past ten years, and it will plant and conserve 70 billion trees by 2030.

China has announced its goal of peaking its carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. It will only take China 30 years to move from carbon peak to carbon neutrality. However, it will take 71 years for the EU, 43 years for the US and 37 years for Japan, all of which are developed countries, to move from carbon peak to carbon neutrality. This means China is to achieve the largest reduction in carbon intensity the world has ever seen and move from carbon peaking to carbon neutrality within the shortest time in world history. This is a solemn promise China made to the world and China will make unremitting efforts to this end.

China is still the biggest developing country in the world, and will actively participate in international negotiations on climate change in line with the principle of equity, common but differentiated responsibilities, and respective capabilities. Developed and developing countries shoulder different historical responsibilities for climate change, and they also have different development needs and capabilities. No one-size-fits-all standards should be adopted.

The second part of the 15th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity will convene next week in Montreal. China, as COP15 Presidency, will continue its leading role in specific and political affairs of COP15, intensify cooperation with all parties, including the Canadian side, promote the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, which should be both ambitious and realistic, and work for the success of the conference.

Ladies and gentlemen, 

Our world, our times, and history are changing in ways like never before. Where the world heads for will be decided by peoples of all countries. China's choice is crystal clear: 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.

As a Chinese saying goes, "Even mountains and seas cannot distance people with common aspirations." China and Canada, though oceans apart, have proved with the development history of bilateral relations that cooperation is beneficial to both of us and the world at large. Facing the rapidly-changing global landscape, it is all the more important for our two countries to cooperate. I hope that the Canadian side will abolish cold-war mentality, work with the Chinese side towards the same end, adhere to the principle of mutual respect and equality, seek common grounds while reserving differences, and promote the China-Canada relations back on the right track.

The University of Ottawa has close educational cooperation with China, with close to 3,000 Chinese students on campus and has conducted various forms of cooperation with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai Jiaotong University and many others. This is a vivid example of our friendship and cooperation. I hope all of the faculty members and students will actively contribute to China-Canada friendship, and make new contributions to bilateral exchanges and cooperation.

Thank you and merci!