Mr. President,

The outcome document adopted recently at the 2005 World Summit highly appraises the General Assembly's "Global Agenda for Dialogue among Civilizations and Program of Action" and "Declaration and Program of Action on Culture of Peace", welcomes "Alliance for Civilizations" initiative announced by the Secretary-General in July this year, and calls on countries to take actions to enhance dialogue among civilizations and culture of peace at the local, national, regional and international levels. The Chinese Delegation believes that this has provided this Organization and Member States with a good opportunity to speed up the implementation of the above commitments and initiatives.

Mr. President,

There are nearly 200 countries in the world, with over 6 billion people. In spite of the different historical background, social system, development level, cultural tradition and religious belief, they have all contributed to the civilizations of mankind. The global diversity and difference of civilizations and cultures should not be the sources for conflicts in the world. They should instead be the motive force and launching pad for international exchanges and cooperation. The expansion of economic globalization has made economic and social problems even more complicated. It is therefore necessary for countries to act in the spirit of openness and equality, acknowledge diversity in the world, reinforce dialogue and exchange among civilizations, settle international and regional disputes through peaceful means, and jointly build a world of harmony of all civilizations.

Since the September 11 event, counter terrorism has become the focus of attention of the international community, and many efforts have been made in this regard. In our anti-terrorist endeavor, we should give up the practice of putting terrorism on a par with certain civilization and religion. Only by so doing, can we genuinely mobilize forces of all countries in fighting against terrorism and safeguarding world peace.

Mr. President,

We are glad to note that since 2001, "Global Agenda for Dialogue among Civilizations" has become an important initiative to deepen mutual understanding among nations. The UN, relevant international organizations and member states have conducted study trips, cultural and educational exchanges, and joint scientific researches. This has effectively increased understanding of each other's cultures and religious beliefs among people in different countries, and promoted the culture of peace more extensively.

The reports submitted by the Secretary-General under agenda items 42 and 43 (A/60/259 and A/60/201) have fully affirmed the active involvement of governments, NGOs and academic institutions in the UN process of dialogue among civilizations and culture of peace, highly appraised contributions made by the UNESCO in this regard, and put forward new recommendations for future work. We would like to express our appreciation on these efforts.

Mr. President,

China has a long history of 5000 years, and the Chinese culture is the crystallization of long-term exchange and blending among all Chinese ethnic cultures and between Chinese and foreign cultures. Diversity, tolerance and harmony are important features of the Chinese culture. In recent years, the Chinese Government has actively responded to the UN initiatives, hosted quite a few international meetings on dialogues among civilizations, and conducted wide-ranging cultural exchanges with many countries. China has also submitted to the UN its report on implementing "Global Agenda for Dialogue among Civilizations", and actively participated in the drafting of UNESCO convention on cultural diversity. These efforts have increased understanding between China and other countries and played a vigorous role in promoting economic and social development. In future, the Chinese Government will continue to strengthen its cultural exchange and civilization dialogue with other countries, and make joint efforts for human progress and world peace and development.

Thank you, Mr. President.