Working Together for New Progress of Security and Development in Asia

Remarks at the Fifth Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia

Remarks at the Fifth Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia

Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China Dushanbe, 15 June 2019

Your Excellency President Emomali Rahmon, Dear Colleagues,It is my great pleasure to attend the Fifth Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) here in Dushanbe. I wish to thank the Tajikistan side for being such a thoughtful and hospitable host.

Establishing CICA was an important initiative proposed by Nursultan Nazarbayev, the first president of Kazakhstan. For the past 27 years, CICA, responding to the trend of the times, has been committed to strengthening trust and coordination among its member states and to promoting security and stability in our region, thus making a valuable contribution to peace and development in Asia.

It is with promoting regional peace and development in mind that I proposed, at the 2014 Shanghai Summit, a vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and called for exploring a security and development path that suits Asia and serves the common interests of all. My proposal found strong resonance. Over the past five years, the member states have rendered great support to China as a two-term Chair and to Tajikistan as the current Chair. We have strengthened understanding and cooperation among us, and worked together to secure new progress for CICA's development.

China will work with other member states to support the Chair, deepen cooperation across the board and take the CICA process to a new level. China will host a forum for the heads of military educational institutions of CICA member states and organize events on small and medium enterprises, financial services, environmental protection, poverty alleviation and people-to-people exchanges so as to play its due role in promoting CICA's development.

Dear Colleagues, Asia is one of the most dynamic regions with great development potential. Asian countries also face some common challenges such as inadequate political trust, uneven economic development and prominent security and governance impediments. Our journey to lasting peace and common prosperity will be a long and arduous one.

An ancient Chinese philosopher once observed, "The gentleman devotes his attention to the basic of things. When he has mastered the basics, he will find the Way." In 2015, I put forth the initiative of building an Asian community with a shared future and laid out what we can all agree to in building a better Asia. Since then, we Asian countries have better appreciated the value of cooperation, extended our practice of cooperation and gained more experience of cooperation, thus truly moving toward an Asian community with a shared future. Under the current circumstances, we need to stay true to our goal, embrace the opportunities and address the challenges together, and collectively work for new progress of security and development in Asia. - Building an Asia where countries enjoy mutual respect and trust is our common aspiration. Mutual respect and trust is required in developing state-to-state relations. We need to observe the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and respect the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of each country and the political system and development path chosen by them. A zero-sum mentality and protectionism must be rejected in favor of more policy communication and political trust, so that we can expand our strategic consensus.

- Building a secure and stable Asia is our common objective. The vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security is about realizing the security of all countries in the region as a whole. Confrontation and alliances must be eschewed in favor of dialogue and partnership. We must find proper solutions to traditional and non-traditional security issues and, in particular, deal firmly with terrorism in all its forms. We must take effective preventive measures of various sorts to eradicate the breeding ground of extremist ideology, and explore a regional security architecture suited to Asia's realities, one that will enhance universal security for us all.

- Building a growing and prosperous Asia is our common vision. Development is the master key to all problems. We need to jointly promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, and conclude at an early date the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and other documents on regional integration. We need to work on the follow-ups to the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in April this year, seek greater complementarity between our development strategies, and enhance all-round connectivity to boost high-quality growth of all countries.

- Building an open and inclusive Asia is our common pursuit. Isolation would lead us nowhere, while openness would offer us infinite possibilities. We need to implement the consensus reached at last month's Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations, and promote equality, mutual learning, dialogue and mutual accommodation between civilizations. We need to encourage more people-to-people exchanges among countries both in and outside the region so that when it comes to civilizations, respect for diversity will replace a sense of superiority, harmonious co-existence will replace conflict, interaction and sharing will replace estrangement, and prosperity and progress for all will replace self-imposed isolation and ossification.

- Building a cooperative and creative Asia is our common need. Reform and innovation is a powerful driving force behind the progress of human civilization. We must, in light of the changing times, translate our readiness for innovation into concrete actions, and break more new ground in theory, system, science and technology, and culture, among other areas, to keep the vibrancy of a growing Asia. We need to think outside the box to find new solutions to old problems and good solutions to new ones. This way, we will be better able to address the various challenges facing Asia.

Dear Colleagues, China is committed to developing good-neighborly and friendly ties with other Asian countries. China has participated in the establishment of such multilateral security and development mechanisms as CICA, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and supported the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the League of Arab States and other organizations in playing their active roles, thus making an important contribution to stability and prosperity in Asia. As a member of the Asian family and a responsible major country in the global community, China will continue to build peace, contribute to development and uphold order in the world, and work for a new type of international relations and a community with a shared future for mankind.

First, China will stay committed to peaceful development and reject a beggar-thy-neighbor approach. China will continue to deepen its friendship and cooperation with other countries on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence, pursue peaceful settlement to disputes with relevant countries over territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, and support negotiated solutions to regional hotspot issues.

Second, China will stay committed to opening-up for win-win outcomes and share development opportunities with other countries. China will work with all other parties to make good use of the platform of Belt and Road cooperation to secure a sustained driver for our common development. Later this year, China will host the Second China International Import Expo to further facilitate access to the Chinese market.

Third, China will stay committed to practicing multilateralism to safeguard the international order underpinned by international law. China will work with other countries to advocate extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits in global governance, and firmly uphold the UN-centered international system and the multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core. With regard to any problem that occurs on the economic and trade front, all sides need to act in the spirit of mutual respect and handle it appropriately through equal-footed dialogue and consultation in accordance with norms in international relations and multilateral trading rules, rather than resort to protectionism and unilateralism at every turn. By taking such a position, China is upholding the legitimate development rights and interests of all countries and, for that matter, fairness and justice in the world.

Dear Colleagues, As the great Tajik poet Rudaki wrote, "The wise pursue kindness and peace; only the fool are bent on strife and war." Let us join hands in a tireless pursuit of peace, stability and prosperity and usher in a brighter future for Asia and beyond.

Thank you.