As Iran war rages, China links peace to economic growth at Boao Forum

As the US-Israeli war on Iran continues, China’s top legislator, Zhao Leji, has told the Asia" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="40629" data-entity-type="event">Boao Forum for Asia – a high-level gathering of governments and business leaders – that power politics should be rejected in favour of economic development and conflicts should be resolved through negotiations.“The people of Asia, having endured the scourge of war and chaos, deeply understand the value of peace and stability,” said Zhao, chairman of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, China’s top legislative body, at the forum’s plenary session on Thursday.“We should ... respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, adhere to non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, [and] resolve conflicts and differences through peaceful means,” said Zhao, also a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, the central decision-making authority of the ruling Communist Party.“We need to ... respect the diversity of world civilisations, promote the common values of humanity and oppose the clash of civilisations and ideological confrontation.”Zhao credited Asia’s rapid economic progress in recent decades to openness and cooperation, saying regional countries should reject hegemony.China, whose contribution to global economic growth remains stable at about 30 per cent, would continue advocating for free trade and openness to foreign investment, he added.