those responsibilities also apply to the way a country empowers its own people.
political perspectives
it is undeniable that greater economic freedom has contributed to china’s growing economic strength.
as china’s economy generates higher living standards and more choice for chinese people, there is inevitably debate within china about the relationship between greater economic freedom and greater political freedom.
i recognise that we approach these issues with different perspectives. i understand too that being in government is a huge challenge.
i’m finding that running a country of 60 million people.
so i can only begin to imagine what it is like leading a country of 1.3 billion.
i realise this presents challenges of a different order of magnitude.
when i came here last i was britain’s leader of the opposition.
now we’ve had a general election.
it produced a coalition government, which combines two different political parties – the conservatives and the liberal democrats – with different histories and political philosophies, working together for the good of our country.
the labour party is now the official opposition, with a constitutional duty to hold the new government publicly to account.
indeed if i were not in beijing this wednesday afternoon, i would be preparing for my weekly session of prime minister’s questions in the house of commons, where mps question me freely about the whole range of government policy.
all the time the government is subject to the rule of law.
these are constraints on the government, and at times they can be frustrating when the courts take a view with which the government differs
but ultimately we believe that they make our government better and our country stronger.
through the media, the public get to hear directly from people who hold different views from the government.
that can be difficult at times, too.
but we believe that the better informed the british public is about the issues affecting our society
the easier it is, ultimately, for the british government to come to sensible decisions and to develop robust policies that command the confidence of our people.
i make these observations not because i believe that we have some moral superiority.
our own society is not perfect.
there is still injustice which we must work hard to tackle.
we are far from immune from poverty and the ills that afflict every nation on earth.
but in arguing for a strong relationship between our countries, i want a relationship in which we can be open with each other, in which we can have constructive dialogue of give and take in a spirit of tolerance and mutual respect.