Remarks by H.E. Yang Jiechi at the Foreign Policy Session of The 2018 Annual Meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club

女士们，先生们！

　　很高兴有机会参加瓦尔代国际辩论俱乐部年会。作为全球最具影响力的论坛之一，瓦尔代国际辩论俱乐部年会每年都汇聚全球有重要影响的国际问题专家和学者，就最紧迫的国际和地区问题进行深入讨论，为解决重要现实问题提供思路和方案。此次年会全会的主题是“我们生活的世界：21世纪的稳定与发展”，本场讨论的主题是“变革时代的对外政策：在世界变化中如何发展”，这些都是举世关注的重大问题，是时代之问。我本人很有兴趣参与相关讨论。

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is my great pleasure to be with you at this year's meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club, which I must say is one of the world's foremost forums. Every year, the Valdai Club brings together the great minds of the world to discuss pressing regional and global issues and explore possible solutions. This year, you have selected the topic "The World We Will Live in: Stability and Development in the 21st Century" for the plenary and "Foreign Policy in Uncertain Times: Pursuing Development in a Changing World" for this session. I am glad to join the other distinguished panelists in discussing these important issues that are highly relevant to our times.

　　我想我们在座的都出生于20世纪。20世纪发生了两次血腥的世界大战，还发生了残酷的“冷战”，人类社会经历了空前灾难与浩劫。进入新世纪以来，世界格局开始了新一轮深刻演变的历史进程。在变革的时代里，我们面临更多的选择，我们没有任何理由让20世纪的惨痛历史重演，尽管前进的道路不会平坦，但我们对和平与发展的追求坚决不能动摇。

　　基于对20世纪惨痛教训的深刻反思，国际社会在维护国际和平、促进共同发展方面取得了重要共识与成果。伴随着经济全球化与科技革命的深入发展，各国相互联系日益紧密，相互依存度空前提高。这些变化代表了历史前进的方向，关系到各国人民的福祉，需要我们共同加以维护。我有以下看法:

Many of us in this room were born in the 20th century, which saw two world wars followed by the Cold War. They have inflicted untold suffering on humanity. In this new century, the world is experiencing yet another round of profound changes and we must make the right choice. We have no reason to allow the tragedies of the last century to repeat themselves. The road ahead may not be smooth, but our commitment to peace and development must be unwavering.

The international community has drawn hard lessons from the catastrophes of the 20th century. We all agree on the need to promote global peace and development, and, indeed, much has been accomplished in this regard. Economic globalization and scientific revolution have made interconnection and interdependence between countries an inescapable reality. These unstoppable trends have contributed to the well-being of all our peoples and must be preserved by all of us. Please allow me to make five observations about the prevailing trends in our world today: