Chinese President Xi Jinping's just concluded state visits to Vietnam and Singapore from Thursday to Saturday have constructed new consensus on bilateral and regional cooperation between China and Southeast Asian nations and promoted understanding about China's domestic and foreign policies in the region, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said. [Special coverage]
Xi's state visits came as this year marks the 65th anniversary of the establishment of China-Vietnam diplomatic relations as well as the 25th anniversary of the establishment of China-Singapore diplomatic ties.
CHINA, VIETNAM -- COMMUNITY OF COMMON DESTINY
Chinese and Vietnamese leaders reached wide consensus on common interests, challenges, needs and tasks facing the two countries,Wang said after Xi wrapped up his visits.
During his talks with Vietnamese leaders, Xi reiterated that China and Vietnam constitute a community of common destiny with strategic significance, and the futures of the socialism cause of the two countries are highly intertwined, Wang said.
Xi urged the two sides to inherit and maintain the "comradely and brotherly" traditional friendship built and carefully cultivated by Mao Zedong, Ho Chi Minh and other leaders of the older generation.
The two countries also reached consensus on expanding cooperation within the framework of China's Belt and Road Initiative and Vietnam's "Two Corridors and One Economic Circle" plan, as well as on enhancing production capacity cooperation.
"The visit has met the goal of consolidating traditional friendship, furthering strategic coordination and promoting pragmatic cooperation," Xi told Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang.
"We have reached a series of consensus on pragmatic cooperation in various fields," said Xi.
The two sides also signed a number of cooperation documents covering such fields as party-to-party exchanges, transportation, production capacity, railway, energy, finance and local affairs, Wang said.
On people-to-people exchanges, Xi called on the two sides to promote friendly sentiment between their peoples by enhancing cooperation in areas of media, culture, education, tourism and youth development.
On maritime cooperation, Xi urged the two sides to properly deal with and control their differences, gradually accumulate consensus and expand common interests through bilateral negotiations, and strive to achieve the common goal of joint exploitation.
CHINA, SINGAPORE -- PARTNERSHIP OF ALL-ROUND COOPERATION
Chinese and Singapore leaders agreed to redefine China-Singapore ties as a partnership of all-round cooperation keeping with the times during Xi's visit to the city-state, a landmark move for China-Singapore ties, Wang said.
The two countries also decided to launch negotiations on an upgrade of a seven-year-old free trade agreement (FTA).
Both countries agreed to expand cooperation in economy, trade and investment, and actively explore mode of cooperation between the two countries' enterprises in a third market within the framework of the Belt and Road initiative.
The two leaders agreed to build the third government-to-government project in Chongqing, a metropolis in southwest China, and promote the use of renminbi (RMB) in bilateral trade and investment.
The two countries will work toward the early establishment and operation of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
Frequent exchanges of high-level visits, the success of two existing government-to-government projects, and the proposed third project in Chongqing will all inject fresh momentum into bilateral ties, Xi said.
Xi called on the two sides to maintain the momentum of people-to-people exchanges, making a success of exchanges between youths and university students of the two countries, and expand cooperation in education and human resources to raise the level of cultural cooperation.
CHINA, ASEAN -- COOPERATION TO ACHIEVE COMMON DEVELOPMENT
The Chinese president reiterated China's path of peaceful development and good-neighborly policy, saying China is willing to cooperate with Asian countries to achieve common development.
Noting that China and ASEAN face an important opportunity to develop relations, Xi pledged to strengthen strategic dialogue and deepen practical cooperation in various fields with ASEAN countries to jointly lift China-ASEAN strategic partnership to a new height.
China supports the growth of ASEAN and is resolute in boosting friendly cooperation with the Southeast Asian bloc, firmly support the establishment of the economic community, and back ASEAN's leading role in promoting regional cooperation in East Asia, Xi said.
Neighborhood is the starting point of China's development initiatives such as the "Belt and Road" and vision of building a community of common destiny, Xi said.
Those commitments come out of the bottom of the heart of the Chinese people, and will be kept with the witness of the ASEAN countries and the international community, Wang said.
China is capable of and confident in working with Southeast Asian nations to maintain peace and stability in South China Sea, Xi pointed out.
The freedom of navigation and overflight in South China Sea neither has been nor will be hindered, he said, stressing that China needs unimpeded passage in the body of water more than any other country does.
Noting that the South China Sea islands in disputes between China and other claimants have been Chinese territory since ancient times, Xi said Beijing shoulders inescapable responsibility to safeguard territorial sovereignty and legitimate maritime rights and interests.
Peace and stability are both the starting points and the objectives of China's South China Sea policy, Xi said.
