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Xi addressed the Australian parliament in Canberra. Photo: AP

China will never use force to achieve goals, Xi vows

China dedicated to upholding peace, president tells Australian Parliament

President Xi Jinping vowed yesterday never to use force to achieve Beijing's goals, including in maritime disputes, just days after US President Barack Obama warned of the dangers of outright conflict in Asia.

In an address to the Australian Parliament, Xi said his giant developing nation needed peace.

"A review of history shows that countries that attempted to pursue development with force invariably failed," he said in a lengthy address in which he also reminisced about kangaroo and koala encounters during previous visits to Australia.

"This is what history teaches us. China is dedicated to upholding peace. Peace is precious and needs to be protected."

But he added: "We must always be on high alert against the factors that may deprive us of peace."

China is locked in disputes with four Southeast Asian countries over lonely outcrops in the South China Sea, and with Japan over another set of islets.

The leaders of the United States, Australia and Japan on Sunday called for the peaceful settlement of the maritime disputes. The day before, Obama had warned of "disputes over territory - remote islands and rocky shoals - that threaten to spiral into confrontation".

Xi said he was open to dialogue. "It is China's long-standing position to address peacefully its disputes with countries concerned and territorial sovereignty and maritime interests through dialogue and consultation."

Ahead of his parliamentary address, Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan , were introduced to a 10-month-old baby wombat named Walnut before viewing kangaroos from a golf buggy near Canberra.

Yesterday's speech was the first by a Chinese leader to the Australian legislature since Hu Jintao addressed it when he was president in 2003. The two nations have not always seen eye to eye.

As opposition leader during a July 2012 visit to China, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said investment from the country was "complicated" by the prevalence of state-owned enterprises, while a year ago his government publicly rebuked China for its introduction of an air-defence identification zone over parts of the East China Sea.

Hundreds of Chinese gathered on the lawns in front of Parliament House before Xi made the speech.

They were split between pro-Beijing supporters wearing red and waving Chinese flags, and yellow-clad dissenters brandishing placards in support of the Falun Gong religious group.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Xi vows no use of force to reach goals
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