Dialectics of War and Peace

Addressing the plenary meeting of the PLA delegates to the first session of the 12th NPC on March 11, 2013, Xi Jinping explained the dialectic of war and peace, which tells us that only those who can fight can stop war, and only when we are prepared for war can we prevent war from happening, and that war will be upon us if we are weak.

Today, while the forces that promote peace and prevent war are on the rise, the world still faces actual and potential threats of war. Peace can only be ensured by strength. Only the ability to win wars can deter wars.

The Chinese people love peace, and will never waver in their pursuit of peaceful development. China’s armed forces are always a pillar of world peace. Chinacraves peace, but our legitimate rights and core national interests are non-negotiable. WhileChina will never seek hegemony or expansion, or engage in aggression, we will have to fight back and win if a war is imposed on us. 

戰爭與和平的辯證法

2013年3月11日，習近平在十二屆全國人大一次會議解放軍代表團全體會議上指出，能戰方能止戰，準備打才可能不必打，越不能打越可能挨打，這就是戰爭與和平的辯證法。當今世界，維護和平的力量在上升，制約戰爭的因素在增多，但是世界依然面臨現實和潛在的戰爭威脅，和平必須以強大實力為后盾，能打贏才能有力遏制戰爭。中國人民珍愛和平，堅定不移走和平發展道路，中國軍隊始終是維護世界和平的堅定力量。中國渴望和平，但決不會因此而放棄我們的正當權益，決不會拿國家的核心利益做交易。中國決不干稱王稱霸的事，決不會搞侵略擴張，但如果有人要把戰爭強加到我們頭上，我們必須能決戰決勝。