Irrational Political and Economic Order Root of World Problems: JiangPresident Jiang Zemin said Tuesday that the root of current problems in the world, like growing gap between developing and developed countries, conflicts and wars, is the many irrational and inequitable factors in the current international political and economic order.Jiang made the remarks during a speech at the opening ceremony of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum -- Ministerial Conference Beijing 2000, which began here Tuesday. Officials from more than 40 African countries and China participated in the forum, the first of its kind in the history of China-Africa relations. Jiang said although the world today is moving towards multi-polarity and the international situation is on the whole easing off, development in different countries is extremely uneven. "Hegemonism and power politics still exist, and developing countries are still faced with an arduous task of safeguarding their sovereignty, security and interests," Jiang said. "The gap between the North and the South is being widened not only economically, but also in science and technology." Hence, he said, there has emerged a disturbing "digital divide." The prolonged poverty and backwardness, coupled with external factors, have exacerbated the otherwise latent ethnic rifts, religious feuds and social conflicts in some developing countries, led to conflicts and wars in these countries and impaired their state stability and national development. "At the root of these problems are many irrational and inequitable factors in the current international political and economic order," Jiang said. "They are detrimental not only to world peace and development, but also to the stability and development of the vast number of developing countries." |
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