Hong Kong Newspaper Features Exclusive Preview of 2008 White Paper on China’s Foreign Policy

On January 12, the Hong Kong newspaper Wen Wei Pao carried an exclusive article covering a portion of the 2008 China White Paper on Foreign Policy, which will be released in mid-2008. The article was reportedly approved by the China Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department for Strategic Research. In the portion covered by the news article, the White Paper stated that by the end of 2007 China had established diplomatic relations with 170 countries, participated in more than 100 international organizations and signed nearly 300 international agreements (Wen Wei Pao, January 12).

The White Paper reportedly provides a complete overview of China’s foreign relations in the past year, and it elaborates on China’s foreign policy as well as provides its views on international events. The White Paper is organized in terms of China’s relations with superpowers, neighboring countries and developing countries in eight areas (Wen Wei Pao, January 12).

The White Paper provides the assessment that in 2007, U.S.-China relations have maintained overall stability and development through a series of consensus that developed following two successful meetings between the heads of state, which provide the impetus for improving China-U.S. relations. China-Russia elevated its strategic partnership and relations are healthy and developing stably; overall, China-EU relations are good and cooperation on various fronts are both expanding and deepening; China-Japan relations, based on the 2006 breakthrough, are steadily improving (Wen Wei Pao, January 12).

In the section on “resolutely defending state sovereignty,” the White Paper reportedly stated that its activities “in response to the Taiwan authorities’ effort to promote de jure independence and the UN Referendum,” and Taiwan’s attempt to apply to the UN and World Health Organizations under the name Taiwan, won many countries’ and international organizations’ support (Wen Wei Pao, January 12).