|
¡@
Cameron urges PRC political reform
AP, BEIJING
British Prime Minister David Cameron urged China yesterday to embrace political
reform as the best way to ensure social stability and continued economic growth.
In a speech at elite Peking University, Cameron said China¡¦s abandoning of
Marxist economics had been a positive force both inside and outside the country,
and said he hoped in time that would lead to greater political openness.
However, excerpts of his speech released by his office made no direct reference
to specific cases of political repression, such as the prison sentence handed
down to this year¡¦s Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo (¼B¾åªi).
¡§The rise in economic freedom in China in recent years has been hugely
beneficial to China and to the world,¡¨ Cameron said.
¡§I hope that in time this will lead to a greater political opening ... because I
am convinced that the best guarantor of prosperity and stability is for economic
and political progress to go in step together,¡¨ he said.
Cameron¡¦s speech came on the second and final day of a visit focused
overwhelmingly on boosting business ties as part of the prime minister¡¦s stated
aim of doubling bilateral trade by 2015 to more than US$100 billion, including
US$30 billion per year in British exports.
Earlier in the day, Cameron met with Chinese President Hu Jintao (JÀAÀÜ), who told
him China looked for more opportunities for cooperation with Britain on global
issues and wanted to ¡§raise the level of mutual political trust,¡¨ while handling
¡§sensitive issues in bilateral relations in an appropriate way,¡¨ Xinhua news
agency said.
While Cameron¡¦s trip has gone outwardly smoothly, it was revealed on Tuesday
that Chinese diplomats objected to the wearing of Remembrance Day poppies by
Cameron and members of his delegation during their meetings in Beijing.
The diplomats stated the poppies would be offensive because they are a reminder
of the 19th century Opium Wars in which British forces defeated Chinese troops,
said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the
sensitivity of the issue.
The British told the Chinese the poppies were a way of honoring the armed
forces, veterans, and the fallen, the official said.
¡@
|
