Building Consensus and Making Concerted Efforts Toward a Secure Homeland in the Asia-Pacific

Keynote Address by Mr.Song Tao,Minister of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Friends,

Good morning!I am delighted to join you at the first Wanshou Dialogue on Global Security and share with you our view on the security situation both internationally and in the Asia-Pacific region.

Our world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century.The trends of global multi-polarity,economic globalization,IT application,and cultural diversity are surging forward; changes in the global governance system and the international order are speeding up;countries are becoming increasingly interconnected and interdependent;relative international forces are becoming more balanced;and peace and development remain irreversible trends.On the other hand,our world faces acute instabilities and uncertainties.The humanity is confronted with many common challenges.Against such a backdrop,Xi Jinping,General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China(CPC),pointed out clearly at the 19th CPC National Congress that China will stay on the path of peaceful development,work to forge a new form of international relations and build a community with a shared future for humanity.To forge a new form of international relations means creating new prospects for state-to-state relations based on mutual respect,fairness,justice and win-win cooperation.To build a community with a shared future for humanity involves each and every nation and country in sticking together through thick and thin and making concerted efforts to build an open,inclusive,clean,and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace,universal security,and common prosperity,so that the people of all countries shall see the realization of their aspirations for a better life.

The vision to forge a new form of international relations and build a community with a shared future for humanity is both forward-looking and profound.It has not only become the aim and objective of China’s diplomatic agenda,but also offered Chinese wisdom and a Chinese approach to solving global problems.Today,this vision is being translated into concrete actions.In particular,the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI),under the banner of building a community with a shared future for humanity,has become the most popular international public good and the largest platform for cooperation among countries to realize common development.

As long as we follow the trend of the times,work together to address challenges,and seize opportunities amidst changes, we human-beings will be able to build synergy for the first time in history and enjoy unprecedented abilities and conditions to build a community with a shared future for humanity.

It is of great significance that the first Wanshou Dialogue on Global Security focuses on security in the Asia-Pacific region.As the largest block of the world economy,the Asia-Pacific cannot achieve growth and prosperity without regional peace and stability.Security in the region is not only critical to the wellbeing of people of all countries in the region,but also is something that matters to peace,stability and development of the whole world.

The overall situation of Asia-Pacific today remains stable.Settlement of differences and disputes through dialogue and consultation increasingly becomes an important policy option of countries in the region.An Asia-Pacific with steady growth still serves as the “locomotive”for global economic recovery.Nevertheless,it must be noted that new security challenges keep cropping up while old ones are yet to be addressed,which further complicate peace and development situation in the region.

Looking into the future,it is important for Asia-Pacific countries to keep pace with the times,reject outdated mentality of zero-sum game and practices of the law of the jungle and beggar-thy-neighbor, work together to introduce new security concepts,expand security cooperation and build security mechanisms.There is an urgent need for countries in the region to work together,with a vision to forge a new form of international relations and build a community with a shared future for humanity,towards a path of Asia-Pacific security in the spirit of collaboration for shared benefits and win-win results.Here,I would like to share with you some of my understanding.

First,common development needs to be promoted through win-win cooperation so as to consolidate the economic foundation for security in the Asia-Pacific.Security is the precondition for development, and development is the foundation for security.Many security issues in the Asia-Pacific originated from the lack of development and can only be addressed through development.Common development provides basic guarantee for peace and stability and holds the“master key” to regional security issues.Countries in the region need to focus on development,expand cooperation,increase connectivity and convergence of interests,so that development achievements are shared by all countries and peoples in the region and sustainable security is maintained through sustainable development.

China will continue to pursue a mutually beneficial strategy of opening up to share with the rest of the world opportunities brought about by our own development.Countries in the Asia-Pacific are welcome to get on board the “express train”of China’s development so that we work together for broader cooperation to realize common prosperity and security.Countries in the region are also welcome to align their development strategies,devise development blueprints and share development benefits with us by participating in the BRI so that BRI is built into a new platform and growth pole forAsia-Pacific cooperation.

Second,mutual respect,equality and mutualtrustneedtobepromotedto consolidatethepoliticalfoundationfor security in the Asia-Pacific.Political mutual trust is the bedrock of security mutual trust.Through years of practice,countries in the Asia-Pacific have developed some effective models and practices for cooperation,such as treating each other as equals,respecting each other’s sovereignty, reaching consensus through consultation,proceeding in an orderly and gradual way,accommodating each other’s comfort levels,all of which have served as important precondition for deepening political mutual trust and strengthening cooperation on security.Countries in the Asia-Pacific should carry forward these good practices in forging a new model of state-to-state relations which embraces“dialogue instead of confrontation,partnership instead of alliance”and break new ground in shaping regional security.

China actively develops friendly relations with its neighboring countries in accordance with the principle of amity,sincerity,mutual benefit and inclusiveness,and the policy of forging friendship and partnership with its neighbors.In recent years,China has expanded its“circle of friends”in the neighboring region,deepened its cooperation with neighboring countries on the basis of mutual trust and injected positivity to the security cooperation in the Asia-Pacific.We stand ready to continue political dialogue and strategic communication with countries in the region to enhance mutual understanding.We should always respect each other’s core interest and bottom line,understand in the right way each other’s development intentions so that political mutual trust can be built and further enhanced.

Third,mutuallearningamong civilizationsandsincereheart-to-heart bonds need to be promoted to consolidate the opinion base for enhancing common security in the Asia-Pacific.The Asia-Pacific region boasts great diversity of ethnicity,religion,and culture.It is also home to countries of different social systems,development paths and economic development levels.Diversity should not be seen as the root cause of conflict but rather the driving force behind progress.Countries in the region need to take the lead in opposing confrontation or clashes of civilizations and advocate dialogue and interaction among civilizations.Efforts need to be made to enhance mutual understanding and trust among different peoples in the region transcending different ideologies and social systems and misperceptions thereof,so that diversity and differences are transformed into vitality and dynamism for regional cooperation on security.

We Chinese believe that in handling relations among civilizations,estrangement shall be replaced with exchanges,clashes with mutual learning, and superiority with coexistence.We are willing to work towards greater mutual understanding,mutual respect and mutual trust among different countries.We’ll actively engage in people-to-people dialogue,exchanges and cooperation with open mind and heart and ensure that the seeds of people-to-people friendship grow into big trees and bear fruits of shared security and growth.Over the next five years,the CPC will invite political parties from around the world to send to China exchange visitors totaling 15,000 for more interactions.We hope to see that a great number of visitors come from the Asia-Pacific region.

Fourth,dialogue and consultation need to be promoted for innovative ideas to forge greaterconsensusforsecurityinthe Asia-Pacific region.In the context of new realities of more complicated security challenges,remaining rigid or insensitive to changes won’t work.Neither does following old paths with new shoes.Countries in the region need to adopt a multi-pronged,holistic and coordinated approach in managing and controlling conflicts and disputes and administering security governance.Efforts are needed not only to address immediate security challenges,but also to make plans to guard against potential security threats with an aim to maintain the overall stability of the region.

China has always been an important force for regional peace and stability.Thanks to the concerted efforts of China and the ASEAN,the situation in the South China Sea is cooling down and moving towards a stable and positive direction.China,by urging relevant parties of the nuclear issue on Korean Peninsula to solve problems through peaceful means,has played an important role in bringing the nuclear issue on the Peninsula back to the right track of settlement through dialogue and negotiation.Meanwhile,China has actively engaged in the settlement of Iran nuclear issue and issues involving Afghanistan and Syria.China has worked with other countries to handle challenges of terrorism and enhancing maritime security.We’ve also contributed our share to safeguarding security in the Asia-Pacific region.Looking into the future,China will continue to pursue the new thinking on common,comprehensive,cooperative and sustainable security,and play a constructive role in maintaining regional peace and stability.

Fifth,consultationandcollaboration need to be promoted on security cooperation toputinplaceaneffectivesecurity frameworkforthe Asia-Pacificsecurity.Countries in the Asia-Pacific,guided by the principle of equal participation,openness and inclusiveness,and a step-by-step approach,need to accumulate mutual trust,increase consensus,and expand cooperation towards the building of an integrated Asia-Pacific security framework.

China is an advocate and champion for regional multilateral security mechanisms.We firmly support the central role of ASEAN in East Asian cooperation and the development of relevant mechanisms including,among others,Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia.As a supporter and guardian of existing regional security frameworks,China will not build new mechanism to replace existing ones,but rather support and improve them according to the principle of achieving win-win progress through discussion and collaboration.We are ready to work with all relevant parties to further develop regional security mechanisms so as to promote common and universal security in the Asia-Pacific.

Ladies and gentlemen,Friends,

Development and security of the Asia-Pacific region call for our concerted efforts.China will continue to promote peace in the region,contribute to the development of the region,and uphold security for the region.We stand ready to work with countries in the Asia-Pacific to build a secure homeland in the region through consultation and collaboration and create a prosperous and peaceful future for all in the Asia-Pacific region!

Thank you for your attention.