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Minister underlines China’s policy consistency

By ZHANG YUNBI zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn

As part of China’s efforts to reassure the world of its growth prospects, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang underscored on Monday that the country will maintain its policy consistency in the future.

When addressing the China Development Forum in Beijing, Qin said the nation will maintain both its policy consistency and the steadfast manner of its development in order to “introduce fresh opportunities and energy for advancing the building of a community with a shared future for mankind”.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of President Xi Jinping’s proposal to build such a community.

In his speech, Qin said that Beijing will stay true to upholding mutual respect, “promote coordination and benign interactions among major countries” and develop friendly cooperation with various countries.

He emphasized Beijing’s commitment to implementing the three landmark initiatives — the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative — which were proposed by President Xi in 2021, last year and earlier this month, respectively.

Speaking about the economy, Qin said that China will continue advancing its high-quality development and high-level opening-up, and “champion the stable functioning of the global production and supply chains”.

China will also pool strength for developing countries to accelerate the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, he added.

The country will continue to unswervingly uphold justice and fairness, amplify the voice and bolster the representativeness of developing countries in the international community and make global governance more just and reasonable, he said.

China will also join hands with all stakeholders to build global and regional security landscapes that take consideration of the demands of various parties in a balanced and inclusive manner, he added.

Ties with ASEAN

At a separate meeting in Beijing with Kao Kim Hourn, secretarygeneral of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Qin said that “China’s internal and external policies maintain a high level of stability and consistency”.

The country is dedicated to achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through the Chinese path to modernization and will inject more stability into the region for its peace and tranquillity, he said.

All 10 ASEAN member states have joined the Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative at the UN, and Qin said that Beijing appreciates the move.

This year also marks the 20th anniversary of China joining the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia.

Beijing “is willing to achieve outcomes at an early date” for the current phase of negotiations on the 3.0 version of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, Qin said.

He reaffirmed China’s commitment to working with the ASEAN countries to rule out interference from outside the region, effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and formulate the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea at an early date.

The goal is to “introduce institutional guarantee for making the South China Sea a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation”, he added.

Kao Kim Hourn said that ASEAN is ready to work with China to accelerate negotiations on the ChinaASEAN FTA’s 3.0 version and consultations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.

ASEAN also appreciates China’s support to its central role in the region and the country’s constructive role in helping stabilize the situation in Myanmar, he added.

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2023-03-28T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-03-28T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://chinadaily.pressreader.com/article/281578064917127

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