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Wen: Peace is a logical choice for China
(China Daily/Agencies)
Updated: 2005-12-07 06:06
PARIS: Premier Wen Jiabao yesterday pointed to China's "logical choice" of peace because of its history and culture while seeking to allay anxiety about its fast rise.
Premier Wen Jiabao puts on the traditional two-cornered hat of the Ecole Polytechnique in Palaiseau, France yesterday. The hat was presented to Wen by students at the prestigious French university. [Reuters] |
"Having suffered enormously from foreign invasions, China knows the price of peace," Wen said."This choice is a logical choice, dictated by China's history and culture."
He argued that growing domestic demand in China will eventually lead to new opportunities for foreign exporters, apparently in response to widespread fears in France that China's low costs and poor standards of social security are sucking in economic activity and driving up unemployment in Europe.
"China's development is not a threat but an opportunity for the world," Wen stressed, adding that Chinese society "is in constant change."
The premier was addressing the students at the Ecole Polytechnique, one of France's oldest and most prestigious university-level schools for science and engineering.
Wen arrived in France on Sunday for a four-day trip, which has seen the signing of a cluster of commercial and cultural agreements, including a record order for 150 A320 aircraft worth nearly US$10 billion.
His visit to the 200-year-old polytechnique at Palaiseau was the occasion for a partnership agreement with three Chinese universities to introduce new exchange programmes and shared qualifications.
"I am in a very good mood because I love to meet dynamic young people who represent the future of the world," said Wen, who was offered the school's famous hat following his speech.
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