In the morning of May 9, 2012, Vice President Xi Jinping met in the Great Hall of the People with the members of the InterAction Council.

On behalf of the Chinese government, Xi first of all extended congratulations on the 30th InterAction Council annual meeting to be held in Tianjin and best wishes on the success of the event. He said that the InterAction Council brought together many senior statesmen and strategists. With rising influence, it has become an important platform to discuss major international and global issues. The annual meeting this year is of great significance and will focus on topics including the current international situation, the global financial crisis, security affairs and water crisis.

Chairman of the Council and former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien and Honorary Chairman of the Council and former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt on behalf of the Council thanked the Chinese leaders for taking the time to meet them and making the thoughtful arrangements for the annual meeting. Chretien said that the world today is more interlinked and interdependent and China is playing an increasingly important role. Schmidt noted that he has a lot of thoughts coming to China again. When he visited China in the 1970s, he once said that China would play a bigger and greater role in the global affairs. His conclusion has been proven today. China's several thousand of years of civilization contains the spirit of tolerance and respect which is still relevant today. Peace can only be ensured when civilizations respect each other. It is not desirable to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries under the banner of human rights. The world and China today are both faced with problems and challenges. How China handles the challenges will set a benchmark for the world. He sincerely wishes China greater achievements.

Xi said that the views of the two senior statesmen on the world and China are impressive. China has the achievements today most fundamentally because we have found a road of socialism with Chinese characteristics after painstaking explorations. We will continue to follow the road unswervingly and strive for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, which will be the centripetal force bringing the entire Chinese nation together.

He pointed out that the world today is undergoing great development, changes and adjustments and the call for peace, development, cooperation and change is stronger. Meanwhile, there remain many uncertain and unstable factors. China is willing to strengthen cooperation with all countries to safeguard world peace and stability and promote world development and prosperity. He hopes the InterAction Council continues to focus on the major issues relevant to the future of the world, pay attention to and support China's reform, opening up and development and play its role to promote the understanding, trust and cooperation between the Chinese people and people of other countries.

Also present at the meeting were former State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan, Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun, former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, former Swedish Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson, former Austrian Chancellor Franz Vranitzky, member of the InterAction Council Tung Chee Hwa, former Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda Yasuo, former Singaporean Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, former Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, former Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi, former Jordanian Prime Minister Majali and former President of Ghana Jerry John Rawlings.