whether it’s climate change or development, health and education or global security, china is too big and too important now not to play its part.
on climate change, an international deal has to be fair.
and that means that countries with different histories can’t all be expected to contribute in exactly the same way.
but a fair deal also means that all countries contribute
and all are part of an agreement.
and there’s actually a huge opportunity here for china.
because china can really profit from having some of the most efficient green energy in the world.
on international security, great powers have a bigger interest than anyone in preserving stability.
take development for example, china is one of the fastest growing investors in africa
with a vital influence over whether africa can become a new source of growth for the world economy.
we want to work together to ensure that the money we spend in africa is not supporting corrupt and intolerant regimes.
and the meeting of the un security council which the british foreign secretary will chair later this month provides a good opportunity to step up our co-operation on sudan.
as china’s star rises again in the world, so does its stake in a stable and ordered world, in which trade flows freely.
today, china is the world’s second biggest importer of oil, and sudan is one of your most important suppliers.
so china has a direct national interest in working for stability in sudan.
and four fifths of your oil imports pass through the malacca straits.
so like britain and the other big trading nations, you depend on open sea lanes.
and like us, your stability and prosperity depends in part on the stability and prosperity of others.
whether it’s nuclear proliferation, a global economic crisis or the rise of international terrorism, today’s threats to our security do not respect geographical boundaries.
the proliferation of nuclear material endangers lives in nanjing as well as new york.
china is playing an active role in helping to prevent conflagration over north korea.
we have been working with china in the un security council to keep up the pressure on iran
and china’s continuing role here is vital if we are to prevent iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
in your own region, i believe china can work with us to improve the situation for the burmese people.
and china is one of the few countries that burma will listen to on this point.
but political responsibilities are not just about how one country interacts with another