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CONFIDENTIAL
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The Principles
One milestone in the process of reorientation was Premier Zhao Ziyang's speech to the National People's Congress on 25 March, 1986, in which he defined a comprehensive set of
Somewhat abbreviated principles governing China's foreign policy. and re-grouped, these are:
opposition to "hegemonism" (a codeword for domination without military occupation) and support for peace, cooperation and equal rights for all countries;
a policy of national independence, rejecting strategic alliance with either super-power, but coupled with readiness to improve relations with both the United States and the Soviet Union on the basis of "appropriate" principles;
support for peaceful coexistence as the basis of international relations; for the role of the United Nations; and for the intensification of international exchanges;
rejection of terrorism;
solidarity with the Third World;
opposition to the arms race, which the super-powers should take the lead in curbing;
for China herself, a settled policy of "opening" to all foreign countries.
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11. Pious though most of this may sound, I think that it can be taken largely at face value. The main themes of independence, preference for peaceful methods, "opening" and internationalism are all compatible with and indeed a logical expression of - the national interest as China perceives it today. Only three
First, concrete interests broad qualifications need to be made. both defensive and assertive - - will tend to be given priority in practice over any general principle that may get in their way. Secondly, China will not be inhibited by a sense of Third World solidarity either from competing vigorously with other developing countries for aid and other economic benefits or from giving priority to the management of her relations with important non- Third World countries. Thirdly, the economic temptation for China to sell her arms (and possibly nuclear technology) to all comers has so far proved stronger than any principled concern for the effects of this on the arms race and on world peace generally Iran and Iraq being only the best-known of her customers for military equipment.
Fields of Application
12. The Chinese themselves do not often talk in terms of regional or functional priorities, preferring to see national security as a single concern with many specific applications.
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