Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivers an important speech at a central conference on work related to neighboring countries in Beijing. The conference was held from April 8 to 9. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for building a community with a shared future with neighboring countries and striving to open new ground for China's neighborhood work, the Xinhua News Agency reported. 

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks at a central conference on work related to neighboring countries, which was held in Beijing from Tuesday to Wednesday.

In his speech, Xi systematically summarized the achievements and experience of China's neighborhood work in the new era, scientifically analyzed the current situation, and outlined the goals, tasks, ideas and measures for the next phase of neighborhood work, according to Xinhua. 

While presiding over the meeting, Premier Li Qiang stressed the need to thoroughly implement the spirit of Xi's important speech and to earnestly carry out the various tasks in work related to neighboring countries, according to Xinhua. 

The conference highlighted that China's vast territory and long borders make its neighborhood a vital foundation for national development and prosperity, a key front for safeguarding national security, a priority area in the country's overall diplomacy, and a crucial link in building a community with a shared future for humanity, says Xinhua. 

The conference called for viewing neighboring regions through a global perspective and strengthening the sense of responsibility and mission in advancing China's neighborhood work.

Elevating role

In an article published in the People's Daily on Monday, Chinese Ambassador to Thailand Han Zhiqiang wrote that the relationship between China and Thailand is a microcosm of China's neighborhood diplomacy, and diplomacy toward Thailand is concrete practice of the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness of China's neighborhood diplomacy put forward by President Xi.  

In today's world, the situation is complex and volatile, with unilateralism and the law of the jungle running rampant. China has enhanced friendship and deepened cooperation with the vast majority of its neighboring countries, ushering in a new era of building a community with a shared future, which fully demonstrates that Xi's important statements and practices toward neighboring countries are of great value in the current era and are even more significant for the world, wrote Han.

Since the beginning of the new era, President Xi has, by grasping the international trend and the law of regional development, creatively put forward the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness on neighborhood diplomacy. This has promoted the development of good-neighborly friendship, win-win cooperation and integrated co-existence between China and its neighboring countries, opening up a new situation in China's neighborhood diplomacy and ushering in a new era in the relations between China and its northwestern neighbor Central Asian countries, Han Chunlin, Chinese ambassador to Kazakhstan said in an article published by the People's Daily on Tuesday. 

At the press conference on the sidelines of the two sessions on March 7, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi talked about neighborhood diplomacy. 

Wang said that since the beginning of this century, Asia has maintained rapid growth, and has become a leading force for global development and a shining example of peace and stability. This has not come easily, and should be cherished with great care. Asia is where China calls home and builds its future. 

To date, China has reached a common understanding on building a community with a shared future with 17 neighboring countries, in "two clusters" in the Indochina Peninsula and Central Asia respectively. In our neighborhood, we have signed Belt and Road cooperation agreements with 25 countries, and we remain the largest trading partner of 18 countries. Today's China is an anchor of stability, an engine of economic development and a pillar of regional security in Asia, Wang said. 

The central conference on work related to neighboring countries was convened at a point when relations between China and neighboring countries are becoming increasingly close, with the multi-dimensional interaction intensified in economic, social and cultural aspects, Yang Xuedong, director of the Department of Political Sciences at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times. 

Yang Xuedong pointed out that in particular, through platforms such as the Belt and Road Initiative, more substantial connections have been established with neighboring countries, providing a realistic basis for close ties between China and neighboring countries. 

Emphasizing that relations with neighboring countries also play a vital role "for building a community with a shared future," Yang noted that to exert a positive influence on a global scale, it is first necessary to build strategic mutual trust among neighboring countries. 

Jointly combat uncertainty 

Currently, the world is experiencing fundamental changes unseen in a century, and various uncertainties continue to increase, said Yang Xuedong. 

He noted that against this backdrop, strengthening relations with neighbors and friends can help enhance the stability and resilience of China's overall foreign strategy. Neighboring countries' peace and stability serve as the foundation for China's global diplomacy and a stable neighborhood helps China better address external challenges.

On the one hand, the external and internal environment has prompted China to strengthen its neighborhood diplomacy, on the other, in an unstable international environment, neighboring countries are seeking to deepen cooperation with China and use such cooperation to enhance their own ability to withstand risks, said Yang Xiyu, a senior research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times, noting that the trend of the two sides "marching forward hand in hand" is becoming increasingly evident.

For example, most economies in Asia are affected after US government's blanket "reciprocal" tariffs came into force on Wednesday.

Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore Vivian Balakrishnan told the Financial Times that "Our greatest fear is that this set of announcements has shaken the foundational pillars of the world trading system right down to the core."

Balakrishnan's comments came after Prime Minister Lawrence Wong told Singaporeans in a video address last week that US tariffs marked the end of the era of globalization and free trade and the dawn of a period that would be "more arbitrary, protectionist and dangerous."

China is still recognized and valued as the most beneficial economic partner to ASEAN member states, according to a survey conducted by Jakarta-based think tanks in January, media reported.

The world's second-biggest economy gets the highest recognition in the region for its economic and development initiatives, notably through its Belt and Road Initiative, according to a survey by the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia and the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia.

At present, the importance of China's neighborhood diplomacy in the country's overall diplomatic strategy is rising, as the geopolitical status and global influence of the Asia-Pacific region continue to elevate, Yang Xiyu said.

Moreover, China and its neighboring countries share the joint policy objective of economic development as their core task, said Yang Xiyu, noting that driven by the trend of economic integration, the countries within the region have formed a greater demand for closer cooperation based on common interests.