In 1996, four years after Slovenia and China established diplomatic relations, Borut Pahor headed an official delegation from his country to China. Since then, Pahor has visited China many times in different capacities — first as prime minister and then as president.
"Over the years you have done an amazing job — the development of the city, (and) the development of the country, is just amazing," Pahor said about China in a recent exclusive interview in Beijing with China Daily.
"I'm not telling you this because you're in front of me and I'm in China. I could observe from very close and I see that in the last 20 years, China has seen incredible economic development that has been recognized all over the world," he added.
During his most recent visit to China, Pahor attended the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Art and Media Vocational College and co-signed an initiative in support of "a community with a shared future for mankind", a vision proposed by President Xi Jinping.
The world has changed much in the past 30 years, and the relationship between China and the West is now far different from what it used to be, he said, adding that countries with different political systems should engage in dialogue.
"China and the West are the two most important entities for world peace and security; let us work together to see what should be done to secure peace and security in the world," he said. "There are huge potentials if we work together. For the West, China is a different country with a different political system. We will compete normally, but I think it would be unwise to make the relations more difficult."
To promote positive collaboration between the West and China, Pahor proposed his long-held philosophy of dialogue — more communication, more exchanges among the leaders of the world's major nations, as well as forming and abiding by internationally recognized rules and mechanisms. For example, he advocated meetings between the leaders of China and the United States, emphasizing the importance of more frequent exchanges between major countries.
He expressed the hope that such dialogue would prevent countries from using force to implement policies. He also stressed the need for all sides to operate under the rules of the World Trade Organization, so that the West's concerns about investment in China could be addressed, and trust could be built through adherence to the rule of law.
Pahor, who is a member of the European Parliament, said he is concerned with the ongoing conflicts in the world, the number of which he pegged at 55. "Being small, being big, we are all together in this world," he said, and everyone would benefit "if there would be open ears, open eyes, open doors and open hearts". His words echoed those of President Xi, who said there is enough space for everyone if people work together, while there is no space for anyone if people don't do so.
Pahor said he is especially impressed by the initiative of "a community with a shared future for mankind", calling it a message for humanity. "We should recognize that we are at the moment in one phase of development of the world when it is a fact that the world has become a multipolar world," he said.
In the current situation, Pahor said, he pins his hopes on creating dialogue, coming together and finding solutions to modernize international bodies like the United Nations Security Council, so that they could once again be productive in securing peace and security in the world.
Slovenia is currently a member of the UN Security Council, enabling it to play a bigger role, he said. "I hope very much that there will be a peaceful transformation of international institutions, and that there will be no need for war to get there. I hope so, very much for the benefit of your child, my child, and the children of everyone," he added.
But he was clear that the world he was looking forward to might need time to become a reality, and his idea is to go step by step. "We just work together a little bit more intensively, that would be just an amazing step forward," he said.
