Special Report: President Hu visits US, 4 other countries

    RIYADH, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao called here on Sunday for the enhancement of dialogue and cooperation among all civilizations in a bid to build a harmonious world.

    Efforts should be made to enhance cooperation among all civilizations and ethnic groups to promote the great cause of mankind's peace and development, Hu said when addressing the Shura, Saudi Arabia's consultative council that advises the king and cabinet.

    Hu made the remarks as he was visiting the kingdom, his second stop of a current five-nation tour, which has already taken him to the United States and will take him to Morocco, Nigeria and Kenya.

    "In order to build a harmonious world, we should endeavor to preserve the diversity of civilizations and courses of development, adhere to dialogue and exchange of views between civilizations, uphold the spirit of inclusiveness, allow cultures to complement one another through competition and develop together by seeking common ground while shelving differences," the Chinese president said.

    Hu said all countries should acknowledge the differences in cultural traditions, social systems, values and courses of development of other countries.

    In no way should we use these differences as a pretext to point a finger at other countries' internal affairs, nor should we blame any civilization, nationality or religion for the world's existing disputes and conflicts, the president stressed.

    We should go for collective progress between different

    cultures as to build a world where all civilizations coexist harmoniously and accommodate one another, Hu said.

    In order to build a harmonious world, we should also strive for harmonious development of the global economy, Hu said.

    All countries should take effective measures to push forward the global economy in a balance, reciprocal and win-win direction and make efforts to alleviate imbalance in development and eradicate poverty, the president said.

    We should actively promote regional and international economic cooperation, jointly solve problems arising from global economic development and safeguard economic security, Hu said.

    All countries should go for mutual openness instead of blockade and endeavor to set up a open, fair and regulated multilateral trading system so as to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results for all countries, he added.

    In order to build a harmonious world, we should also commit ourselves to realizing peaceful co-existence among all countries, the president said.

    All countries should abide by recognized international law and basic norms of international relations, Hu said.

    All countries should abide by the principles of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression and non-interference in each other's internal affairs, and respect and preserve each country's right to independently choose its own social system and path of development, Hu said.

    Multilateralism should be upheld to promote the democratization of international relations and safeguard all countries' right to equally participate in international affairs, Hu said.

    We should encourage and support efforts to peacefully settle international disputes and conflicts by dialogue, consultations and negotiations, and oppose willful use or threatened use of military force, Hu said.

    All countries should consolidate cooperation on an equal basis to brave global challenges, the president added.

    "Building a harmonious world with a lasting peace and collective prosperity is a shared aspiration of all peoples around the world and a necessary requirement of mankind's development," the president said, calling on all members of the international community to endeavor to realize this ambition hand in hand.

    The Chinese president also reviewed the time-honored friendship between China and Saudi Arabia, whose friendly cooperation in all fields, by the efforts of both countries, has witnessed steady development since their diplomatic ties were established in 1990.

    Our all-round cooperation served the fundamental interests of both peoples and made significant contribution to regional and global peace and development, Hu said.

    Terming China and Saudi Arabia as good friends with mutual trust and trustworthy partners, Hu expressed the hope that the two countries will make continued and joint efforts to contribute to further development of mankind.

    Hu arrived in Riyadh Saturday morning for his first state visit to Saudi Arabia at the invitation of Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz.

    During his three-day visit here, Hu held talks with King Abdullah later Saturday. The two leaders exchanged views on bilateral relations international and regional issues of common concern and ways to strengthen the friendly cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia.

    Saudi Arabia is now China's largest trading partner in West Asia and North Africa. In 2005, trade volume between the two countries exceeded 16 billion U.S. dollars, 56 percent up compared with the previous year.

    In January, King Abdullah paid a visit to China, during which the two countries singed a number of cooperation documents. Enditem