President Xi highlighted China's development path and China's principles and proposals for participating in global governance, and he listened to the speeches of foreign guests.

Xi said that China's development path is the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics. He said that taking this path was the choice of history and the choice of the people. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, especially in the 40 years since reform and opening-up, China has undergone dramatic changes to become the world’s second-largest economy.

Over 1.3 billion Chinese people now have improved living conditions, with more than 700 million people lifted out of poverty. Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth, and the historic achievements made by China have strengthened our confidence in adhering to the socialist path, theory, system, and culture with Chinese characteristics.

In the report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Xi said that after decades of development, socialism with Chinese characteristics had entered a new era, one in which the main contradiction in society was people's ever-growing desire for a better life against inadequate development. In the past, we had to solve the problem of "inadequacy," but now we have to solve the problem of "good or bad." We must focus on improving the quality and efficiency of development to better meet the growing needs of people, to better promote the all-round development of people, and to achieve prosperity for all people. By 2050, he said, we will have built China into a prosperous, democratic, civilized, harmonious, powerful, modern socialist country.

Xi said that the 19th National Congress of the CPC had made comprehensive plans for China's economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological development. We proposed adhering to the thought of people-centered development and implementing the new development concept of innovation, coordination, greenness, openness, and sharing. Through comprehensive and deepening reforms, we will vigorously stimulate the creativity of the entire society while continuing to release the vitality of development. We will implement a higher level of opening-up to the outside world and promote the formation of a new pattern of comprehensive opening-up. Instead of closing the door, China will open the door even wider. Our goal is grand, but it is also very simple: we want all Chinese people to have a better life. We are confident that we can achieve our goal.

Xi stressed that China has always said that people of all countries should have the right to choose their own development path – that there is no one-size-fits-all path in the world. If many countries adopted the same path and measure, development and progress in the world would undoubtedly stop. Whether the development path of a particular country is suitable or not, only the people of that country can say. China respects the diversity of civilizations and is an advocate for exchanges and mutual learning. China is willing to exchange its experiences in governing with other countries, so that we can learn from each other's strengths and make progress together.

Xi said that the world is a global village and that countries are interdependent, sharing both good fortune and bad. China will promote the forging of new international relations and the building of a community with a shared vision for the future of mankind. This is the goal of China's diplomacy in the new era and the direction of the joint efforts of all the countries in the world.

To create a new era in international relations means adhering to mutual respect, fairness and justice, cooperation and mutual benefit. It means abandoning traditional bullying and the law of the jungle to embark on a new path of state relations that promote dialogue rather than confrontation, and partnerships rather than alliances. To build a community with a shared vision for the future of mankind is to build a world of lasting peace, universal security, common prosperity, openness and inclusiveness, and cleanness and beauty.

The Chinese Dream brings together the great common denominator of Chinese people's longing for a better life, while the community with a shared vision for the future of mankind creates a common bond for the people of the world yearning for peace, development, and prosperity.

Xi emphasized that as a country with a population of more than 1.3 billion, China has maintained long-term stable development and will always follow the path of peaceful development rather than the path of hegemony. We firmly adhere to an independent foreign policy of peace, safeguarding international fairness and justice, and opposing actions such as imposing one's will on others, interfering in other countries' internal affairs, and bullying.

China's international cooperation and the promotion of the Belt and Road Initiative will never impose conditions that allow interference in the internal affairs of other countries. China will actively develop global partnerships, expand the intersection of interests with other countries, promote coordination and cooperation among major powers, deepen relations with neighboring countries, and strengthen solidarity and cooperation with developing countries. China will adhere to its national policy of opening up to the outside world.

Xi stressed that China will participate in global governance with a more active attitude, adhering to sovereign equality and fairness and justice, insisting on extensive consultation, joint contribution, shared benefits and win-win cooperation, upholding multilateralism, maintaining stability, and sticking to gradual progress and reform and innovation. China's in-depth promotion of the Belt and Road Initiative is to uphold the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits, building a new platform for cooperation among countries, achieving complementary advantages, and promoting cooperation and mutual benefit.

China strives to promote peace talks, advance the political settlement process of international difficulties, participate in UN peacekeeping operations, and commit to implementing the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. China will make greater contributions to safeguarding world peace and stability and promote global development and prosperity.

Xi said that old and new friends in the World Leadership Alliance, who hail from five continents, have done much to promote exchanges and cooperation between China and other countries. "I greatly appreciate this. I hope that you will share your own advantages, make suggestions for China's development, and enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the Chinese people and the people of other countries."

Giving speeches were former Latvian President and World Leadership Alliance President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, former Italian Prime Minister and former President of the European Commission Romano Prodi, former Chilean President Ricardo Lagos, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, and President of the Australia China Friendship and Exchange Association (ACFEA) Dr. Chau Chak Wing. They offered their congratulations on the success of the 19th National Congress of the CPC, saying that China would benefit the international community even more in the new era.

As the country's development achievements have attracted worldwide attention, China has become a leading force in the global economy and in driving the world's multi-polarization. China is striving to promote globalization in a more balanced and inclusive direction, pushing forward world prosperity, committing to international cooperation on climate change, and offering assistance to developing countries.

China's development experience will help developing countries. China's Belt and Road Initiative and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) have built bridges for cooperation between all parties concerned and provided them with more opportunities. In the current circumstances, the international community may pay renewed attention to China's ideas and plans in order to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in economic, trade, culture, and other fields to achieve win-win results.

Prior to his meeting with the foreign guests, President Xi shook hands with them and posed for a group photo.

Attending the meeting were Ding Xuexiang, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee; Wang Chen, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice-Chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee; Liu He, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the General Office of the Central Leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs; and Yang Jiechi, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and State Councilor.

In 2014, the Imperial Springs International Forum was co-founded by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) and the Australia China Friendship and Exchange Association (ACFEA). Invited to participate were a number of former foreign political figures, well-known experts and scholars, business leaders, and other people from all walks of life.

The 2017 Imperial Springs International Forum was held in Guangzhou from November 28th to 30th with the theme of "Global Governance and China's Perspective."

● This article is translated from "习近平会见出席'2017从都国际论坛'外方嘉宾" published by People's Daily on December 1st, 2017.