Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Monday in Helsinki expounded China's position on various international issues in a keynote speech delivered at the end of the sixth summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit.

China's stand on issues of multilateralism, sustained development, energy security, globalization, the future of ASEM, as well as other major international issues was mentioned in the speech.

BUILDING ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY SOCIETY

Addressing the closing ceremony of the summit, Wen said China was striving to build an environmentally-friendly society, pointing out that energy and environment were the two big issues the country faced in its economic development.

Properly handling the issues of energy and environment was not only a necessity for China, but also would make a contribution to the globe at large, Wen stressed.

China had actively participated in the international cooperation mechanism on climate change, and it had honored its commitments, Wen said.

The premier said the Chinese government had adopted measures to save energy and increase energy utilization efficiency in a bid to build an energy-saving and environmentally-friendly society.

ENHANCING UN ABILITY IN TACKLING THREATS

Regarding to the function of the United Nations, Wen called for the enhancement of the UN ability in tackling threats and challenges.

Wen said China insisted that international disputes should be solved through dialogue and negotiations, instead of the apply of force or threat of force.

China agreed to deepen anti-terrorism cooperation, root out the causes of terrorism, but opposed the apply of double-standards in fighting terrorism.

The Chinese premier called on the international community to safeguard the authority and effectiveness of the exiting multilateral agreement on nuclear non-proliferation by formulating comprehensive export control systems.

GLOBALIZATION POSES AS BOTH OPPORTUNITY, CHALLENGE

Wen said globalization not only brought valuable opportunities, but also caused great challenges for Asian and European countries.

He said Asia and European countries should strengthen their coordination and cooperation to raise their competitiveness and ability to prevent risks.

The developed countries should help the developing ones with debt-relief, finance, technology and aid, to increase their ability to face the wave of globalization, he said.

The developed countries should show their political will and more flexibility in reducing agricultural compensation and tariffs in a bid to pave the way for resuming the Doha Round trade talks under the World Trade Organization, he added.

MAPPING OUT BLUEPRINT FOR NEXT ASEM SUMMIT

Wen mapped out the blueprint for the next ASEM summit to be held in Beijing.

"China is to host the 7th ASEM summit in October 2008 in Beijing. I'm looking forward to joining hands with all leaders here to make concerted efforts to deepen the strategic dialogue between Asia and Europe," Wen said.

At the Beijing summit, China would work together with ASEM partners to promote trade and economic cooperation between Asia and Europe, and conduct more cultural exchanges and dialogues between different civilizations, to make more contributions in deepening the Asia-Europe partnership, he said.

Over the past two days, the leaders from Asia and Europe had summarized the experience and achievements over the past 10 years after the founding of the ASEM mechanism, and they had also mapped out blueprint for the future development of the ASEM, Wen said.

OTHER MAJOR INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

Wen also urged ASEM members to cooperate in preventing and controlling infectious diseases, especially bird flu.

As for the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula, Wen said the most important task now was to resume the six-party talks as soon as possible.

He suggested that all parties involved should exercise self-restraint.

Meanwhile, Wen said diplomatic negotiations was the best way to solve the Iranian nuclear issue, adding that Iran should pay enough attention to the world's concerns and take constructive measures.

Turning to the issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Chinese premier said disputes should be settled through political negotiations under the guideline of "land for peace."

At the conclusion of the summit, Asian and European leaders formally accepted India, Pakistan, Mongolia, Bulgaria and Romania as well as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat into ASEM.

The two-day summit, which started on Sunday, brought together leaders and top officials from the European Union's 25 members and 13 Asian countries.

Source: Xinhua