As a member of Asia and an important regional power, China always adheres to the principle of equality, mutual trust, cooperation and win-win partnership and has made tremendous contribution to peace and development of Asia. However, with China’s rapid development, some people doubt about China’s future development. Some even observe China through ‘coloured glasses’, believing that a strong China would follow the footsteps of hegemonism and become a threat to Asia, if not for the world.
As Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out during his visit to Europe recently, ‘to observe and understand China properly, one need to bear in mind both China’s past and present, draw reference from both China’s accomplishments and Chinese way of thinking’. In its 5000-year history, China did make great contribution to the development of human civilisation. It is also a fact that China for centuries lagged behind of the times in modern history, subject to foreign invasions and bullying, losing dignity and sovereignty for so long. These are the integral parts of China’s history and none should be taken out of historical context. Chinese people have no gene of aggression or hegemonism in their blood. China never, now or in future, seeks hegemony in the world.
Although China is the world second largest economy in terms of GDP, it still ranks 84th on per capita basis, and more than 200 million Chinese people are still living under the poverty line. Problems such as shortage of resources, environmental pollution are becoming increasingly prominent. Currently, the Chinese Government and people are working hard to fulfil their aspirations for more job opportunities, better education, better housing and better environment, etc.. All these efforts, pieced together, constitutes the Chinese Dream, the common goal for Chinese nation. To realise it, a sound external environment is indispensable.
In order to maintain a good environment for good-neighbourliness and joint development, China has put forward the concept of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness as the guiding principles of China's diplomacy with its neighbouring countries. China has put such ideas as consolidating friendship, treating others in honesty, mutually beneficial and win-win partnership, open and inclusive development into action, which vividly reflects China’s commitment to the path of peaceful development. With its cooperation with ASEAN, China has proposed the “2+7” framework, involving proposals and projects in political, economic, maritime, security and people-to-people fields. Initiatives like China-ASEAN Treaty of Good-neighbourliness, Friendship and Cooperation, Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, and Maritime Silk Road of 21st Century are being implemented steadily, which fully demonstrates China’s sincerity for cooperation with ASEAN countries.
Handling disputes properly is important for keeping peace and stability and creating a sound environment for all. During recent years, disputes in the South China Sea have been a challenging issue. Despite the differences between China and some Southeast Asian countries over a number of islands and reefs of the Nansha Islands and their overlapping claims on maritime rights and interests in some areas of the South China Sea, China has committed to handling disputes properly in the spirit of peace and cooperation, hence exercising maximum restraint. Following the signing of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) by China and ASEAN countries in 2002, various cooperation programme have been carried out under this framework. In 2013, the relevant parties launched the consultation of “The Code of Conduct in the South China Sea” (COC) based on the full and effective implementation of DOC. In a word, the situation in the South China Sea is generally stable, which has never affected the freedom of navigation or economic development of this region. Nowadays, Asia has become a symbol of prosperity and dynamism for the rest of the world. Nevertheless, the security environment in Asia is far from being sound, featured by the intertwining of traditional and non-traditional security threats as well as co-existence of historical problems and new hot issues. In particular, peace, security and stability in Asia are facing severe challenges by the interference of major powers outside the region, the attempt of certain country to overthrow the just verdict on its history of aggression and challenge the outcome of world anti-fascists war and post-war international order as stipulated in the Charter of the United Nations.
Security is the guarantee for development and progress in Asia, without which development will not be sustainable and the hard-won progress may turn into ashes. In the face of various challenges, how could Asian countries stop the escalation of mistrust and security dilemma caused by widening gap of differences? How to avoid the human catastrophe in the 20th century? How to realize a virtuous circle of understanding and mutual trust? How to jointly uphold Asian security and foster an environment for Asian peace and stability? All these are important issues that Asian countries should contemplate and handle carefully, bearing in mind three basic lines: cooperation, innovation and accountability. Broadly represented by 24 member states and 13 observer states with different social systems, cultural backgrounds and development phases, CICA is the largest multilateral security forum in Asia. It serves as a unique platform for dialogue and consensus-seeking among different civilisations and nations. During the Summit in Shanghai, Chinese President Xi Jinping will deliver a keynote speech regarding China’s perspective on Asia security situation and proposals for closer security dialogue and cooperation among Asian countries. We hope that the Summit will bridge all to a new Asia security concept, lead all to an Asian voice that passes positive energy on issues like counter-terrorism, containing militarism, abandoning zero-sum mentalities, and opposing interference from outside of the region. It is also our wish that the Shanghai Summit will bring benefit and blessing to all Asian countries, as long as concerted endevours of all parities could be inspired towards the goal of mutually beneficial cooperation and common security in Asia.
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