Foreign Minister Wang Yi Talks About President Xi Jinping's Visit to Pakistan and Xi's Attendance at Asian-African Summit and Activities Commemorating 60th Anniversary of Bandung Conference
From April 20 to 24, 2015, President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Pakistan and visited Indonesia for the attendance of the Asian-African Summit as well as the activities commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Bandung Conference. At the end of his journey, Foreign Minister Wang Yi briefed the press on the visits.
Wang Yi said that this year marks the opening year of comprehensively implementing the spirit of the Central Conference on Work Relating to Foreign Affairs. Since the beginning of this year, China's diplomacy has kept forging ahead with an innovative and pioneering spirit and actively practiced the concept of major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics in the international and regional arena. China has had its voice widely heard, its proposals largely attended to and its role better valued. In this beautiful spring with full blossom, President Xi Jinping began his first foreign visit this year, combining bilateral and multilateral, political and economic, as well as peripheral and international diplomacy. Making Pakistan the first stop is to cement the traditional friendship and deepen practical cooperation between China and Pakistan, and promote the bilateral relations to a new level and enrich the connotation of the China-Pakistan community of common destiny. Visiting Indonesia afterwards for the Asian-African Summit as well as the activities commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Bandung Conference is to carry forward the Bandung Spirit, promote solidarity and cooperation between China and vast developing countries, and promote the construction of a new type of international relations featuring win-win cooperation.
During the visit, President Xi Jinping conducted bilateral and multilateral activities intensively, made extensive contact with people from all walks of life, delivered important speeches on policies, and put forward a series of new proposals and new initiatives, showcasing the diplomatic manner of openness, inclusiveness, modesty and generosity, yielding fruitful results in multiple aspects, and winning extensive praise from the public opinion of both home and abroad.
I. The special friendship between China and Pakistan was powerfully deepened and uplifted.
China and Pakistan are close neighbors linked by mountains and rivers, sharing common aspirations and common destiny. The two countries have supported each other in fighting to safeguard national sovereignty and dignity, assisted each other in the path of national development and construction, and accompanied each other in the waves of historical vicissitudes, thereby developing into all-weather friends to count on at crucial times. China has always taken Pakistan as a priority in its diplomacy and regarded Pakistan as a "staunch brother". All social sectors of Pakistan, governmental or non-governmental, have high-level consensus and great enthusiasm in developing relations with China. During the visit to Pakistan, President Xi Jinping had in-depth talks and exchanges with President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as well as the leaders of the Parliament, armed forces and political parties of Pakistan, playing an important leading role for the development of the bilateral relations.
China and Pakistan have a firmer will to develop the bilateral relations. President Xi Jinping making Pakistan the first stop of his first visit this year shows the high importance China attaches to China-Pakistan relations. The leaders of both countries agreed to upgrade the China-Pakistan strategic partnership of cooperation to an all-weather strategic partnership of cooperation, which implies that China and Pakistan will always move forward side by side regardless of any storms. This concept is a vivid portrayal of all-weather friendship and all-directional cooperation between the two countries, standing out as a unique one in China's concept of foreign relations, and clearly reflecting specialness, endurance and firmness of China-Pakistan friendly relations. The Pakistani leaders unanimously expressed that friendliness towards China is an ever-lasting cornerstone of the foreign policy of Pakistan.
China and Pakistan enjoy a more solid foundation of mutual strategic trust. Both sides agreed to further strengthen strategic communication and cooperation, continue to give mutual support on issues related to each other's core interests and major concerns, strengthen coordination and cooperation on international and regional issues of common concern, maintain the victorious achievements of World War II as well as the contemporary international order and system on the basis of the United Nations Charter, and jointly build a new type of international relations with win-win cooperation at the core. China actively supports Pakistan's efforts to become a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) at an early date. Both sides agreed to enhance cooperation on the Afghan issue and jointly play a positive role in the reconciliation process of Afghanistan, which reflected the width and depth of China-Pakistan strategic cooperation.
China and Pakistan enjoy a more comprehensive framework of practical cooperation. This visit has promoted the two wheels of economic cooperation and security cooperation between China and Pakistan to roll forward together. The two sides agreed to take the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as the lead and cooperation in the Gwadar port, energy, transportation infrastructure and industry as the key to form a "1+4" cooperation pattern. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is located at the interchange of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, forming a leading and major project in the "Belt and Road" initiative. Both sides also made it clear to list the middle and western routes of the Corridor into the medium-and-long-term plan. Both sides proposed to increase the bilateral trade volume to 20 billion USD and sign more than 50 cooperation agreements covering such fields as transportation infrastructure, energy, agriculture, trade and finance in the next three years. The clean energy cooperation project between China and Pakistan becoming the first project supported by the Silk Road Fund bears significant demonstrative effects. Both sides agreed to continuously strengthen counter-terrorism cooperation, defense cooperation as well as cooperation in international and regional security affairs and join hands to crack down on terrorist forces so as to jointly safeguard the security interests of China and Pakistan. The traditional friendship and good political relations between the two countries have more and more transformed into the strong impetus and practical achievements of practical cooperation. The Pakistani media hold that President Xi Jinping's visit effectively promoted the mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Pakistan and can be called a visit that "changed the fate of Pakistan."
The friendly ties between the Chinese and Pakistani peoples are stronger. During the visit, President Xi Jinping stressed multiple times that we have responsibility to well maintain, consolidate and develop the traditional friendship between China and Pakistan, and carry it on from generation to generation. President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif jointly planted a friendship tree, which stands for the flourishing and eternal cause of China-Pakistan friendship. President Xi Jinping presented the Friendship Award of Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence to the non-governmental personnel and groups of Pakistan to honor the efforts they had made in pushing forward the friendship between China and Pakistan. The Chinese side announced the provision of 2,000 training places for Pakistan in the next five years. The two countries agreed to jointly well hold the China-Pakistan Year of Friendship 2015, enlarge corresponding exchanges in think tanks, media, youths and the academia, so as to forge a model of communication and mutual learning as well as friendly cooperation between countries with different civilizations.
Wang Yi said that President Xi Jinping's visit to Pakistan can be described as a visit to the house of a brother, and was celebrated by all the Pakistani people as a grand event. The Pakistani government took President Xi Jinping as the most distinguished guest and arranged the most courteous reception for him including the escort of eight JF-17 Thunder fighter jets and the ride of a horse-drawn carriage, and President Mamnoon Hussain conferred the Nishan-e-Pakistan on President Xi Jinping, all of which manifested the unique and deep friendly affections of Pakistan towards China. President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the Parliament of Pakistan. The 30-odd-minute speech was interrupted by more than 50 showers of warm applause of all the Parliament members present. The China-Pakistan friendship outweighed the divergence of political views among the domestic parties of Pakistan. Wherever the delegation went, they were surrounded by the sea of warm welcome, which practically embodied a Pakistani saying which goes that "the Pakistan-China friendship is higher than mountains, deeper than oceans, sweeter than honey and stronger than steel". President Xi Jinping's current visit has made many records in China-Pakistan relations and set up a new milestone in the history of exchanges between China and Pakistan. The "Pakistan Steel" enjoys not only a time-honored reputation but also the certainty of rock-hard development.
II. The tradition of Asia-Africa solidarity and cooperation was comprehensively promoted and expanded.
Wang Yi said that 60 years ago, the Bandung Conference opened the chapter of the new era featuring solidarity and cooperation between Asia and Africa as well as among developing countries, which was a pioneering undertaking in the history of post-war international relations. As an important participant that year, China made indispensable and important contributions for the success of the Conference. After 60 years, the leaders of Asian and African countries gathering in Indonesia and discussing how to carry forward the Bandung Spirit of solidarity, friendship and cooperation under the theme of "Strengthening South-South Cooperation to Promote World Peace and Prosperity" bears important practical significance. President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the Asian-African Summit and fully expounded the ideas, approaches and measures of China on carrying forward the Bandung Spirit and promoting Asia-Africa cooperation.
First, endow the Bandung Spirit with new connotations of the times. After 60 years of changes, the ten principles of the Bandung Conference still provide important guidance to contemporary international relations. President Xi Jinping pointed out that we should vigorously carry forward the Bandung Spirit, push forward the establishment of a new type of international relations featuring win-win cooperation, promote the international order and system towards a more just and reasonable direction and promote the building of the community of common destiny of the mankind, so as to better benefit the Asian and African peoples as well as people of various countries of other regions. President Xi Jinping accurately grasped the trend of the world development, and speaking from a strategically advantageous position and keeping pace with the times, elaborated on the realistic significance and times connotation of the Bandung Spirit, and endowed the Bandung Spirit with new vitality.
Second, put forward new practical initiatives on Asia-Africa cooperation. After 60 years of tremendous changes, the two continents of Asia and Africa are in the face of new opportunities and new challenges, and joining hands to seek common development is the common aspiration of Asian and African countries. President Xi Jinping stressed China's firm will to promote Asia-Africa cooperation, saying that China will give zero-tariff treatment to 97 percent of the tariff items from the least developed countries that have established diplomatic relationship with China within this year and will continue to offer assistance to developing countries without any political conditions attached. President Xi Jinping announced the initiatives including that China will provide 100,000 training opportunities to developing countries in Asia and Africa in the next five years, continuously hold the Asia-Africa Youth Festival in China, establish the Cooperation Center between China and other Asian and African countries and carry out Asia-Africa exchanges and cooperation. Representatives of Asian and African countries at the meeting all said that the initiatives put forward by China are practical and down to earth, and will powerfully push forward mutually beneficial and friendly cooperation between China and other Asian and African countries and promote the new type of strategic partnership between Asia and Africa for further development.
Third, present a new grand approach of win-win cooperation. After 60 years of vicissitudes, the international configuration and order have profoundly readjusted, with stronger trend of the times featuring peace, development, and win-win cooperation. President Xi Jinping emphasized three points from a strategic and global perspective. Firstly, deepening Asia-Africa cooperation, integrating strategies of development, strengthening infrastructure connectivity, translating economic complementarity into development force of mutual assistance and establishing a new pattern of wide-ranging, multi-level and all-round cooperation. Secondly, expanding South-South cooperation, strengthening solidarity and cooperation of Asia and Africa with developing countries in Latin America, the South Pacific as well as other regions, improving the construction of South-South cooperation mechanism and enhancing the representativeness and voice of developing countries in the international system. Thirdly, promoting North-South cooperation, narrowing the North-South gap, building a more equitable and balanced new-type global partnership for development and promoting the building of a fair, just, inclusive and orderly international economic and financial system. All these important propositions expounded China's concept of international cooperation, forming the strategic guidance for the building of the new-type international relations with win-win cooperation at the core, and exerting an important and positive impact on the evolution of international configuration.
Representatives of the countries present at the meeting universally held that President Xi Jinping's propositions and initiatives on Asia-Africa cooperation, South-South cooperation and North-South cooperation reflect the collective voice of vast developing countries. The international media said that China's role in promoting solidarity and cooperation among developing countries is highly praised and attracting. The documents adopted by the Asian-African Summit including the Bandung Communiqué 2015 and the Statement of Reviving the New Type of Strategic Partnership Between Asia and Africa fully absorbed and reflected China's initiatives and propositions.
Wang Yi said that this Summit has also become an important platform for China to deepen bilateral relations with other Asian and African countries. During the Summit, President Xi Jinping met with President Joko Widodo of Indonesia, and both sides agreed to accelerate the integration of development strategies of the two countries, deepen practical cooperation in all fields and expand the China-Indonesia comprehensive strategic partnership. The leaders of both countries also witnessed the signing of cooperation documents on the high-speed railway project. While meeting with President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, the two heads of state agreed to implement various consensus reached between the two sides and to take the sixth ministerial conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) as an opportunity to comprehensively strengthen friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Zimbabwe as well as between China and Africa, adding new connotation to the new-type strategic partnership between China and Africa. President Xi Jinping also met with President U Thein Sein of Myanmar, President Hassan Rouhani of Iran, and Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia respectively, held extensive talks with other leaders present at the Summit, and exchanged views on bilateral relations and other international and regional topics of common interest.
During the Summit, President Xi Jinping also met with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan upon request. While noticing that Japan hopes to improve the relations with China, President Xi pointed out that Japan needs to properly handle relevant issues in accordance with the spirit of the four political documents between China and Japan, and particularly with regard to historical issues, the Japanese leaders should assume bounden responsibility of statesmen and send out positive signals of facing history squarely to Asian neighbors and the international community.
Third, the building of the community of common destiny was vividly interpreted and implemented.
Wang Yi said that President Xi Jinping proposed to march toward a community of common destiny for all mankind on the basis of the construction of a surrounding community of common destiny at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference not long ago. During this visit, President Xi Jinping made a further and profound elaboration, promoting the construction of the community of common destiny with practical acts. President Xi Jinping has expounded China's path of peaceful development and pointed out the close link of the Chinese Dream to the beautiful dreams of peoples of all countries on multiple occasions. China is willing to work with all relevant sides to promote the construction of "Belt and Road", jointly well construct the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and give full play to the Silk Road Fund. President Xi Jinping effectively combined and digested the concept of the community of common destiny and the spirit of the Bandung Conference as well as the principle of seeking common ground while reserving differences, and emphasized the necessity to insist on mutual respect and equal treatment among different countries, win-win cooperation and common development, realization of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, as well as integration, exchanges and mutual learning of different civilizations. The current visit not only enriched the connotation of the community of common destiny between China and Pakistan and launched the comprehensive construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, but also will play an exemplary leading role in deepening connectivity between China and neighboring countries as well as building a community of common destiny for Asia. President Xi Jinping's emphasis on the openness and win-win feature of the "Belt and Road" as well as Asia-Africa cooperation reflects the new concept of win-win cooperation enacted in Chinese diplomacy and exhibits the openness and inclusiveness of Chinese diplomacy.
President Xi Jinping closely connected China with neighboring countries and the vast number of developing countries through strong traditional friendship ties, the grand "Belt and Road" initiative as well as a bright prospect of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation. The visit to Pakistan played "the duet" for China and Pakistan to jointly establish a community of common destiny, while the attendance at the Asian-African Summit as well as the activities commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Bandung Conference performed the "ensemble" for China to further establish a community of common destiny for all mankind together with the vast number of developing countries, which will definitely exert broad and profound influence.
Wang Yi said in the end that President Xi Jinping's current visit is based on the neighboring countries, focusing on Asian and African countries and looking around the whole world with a global perspective. With establishment of the community of common destiny as guidance, promotion of the "Belt and Road" construction as support, and enhancement of solidarity and cooperation among developing countries as the main theme, the visit serves as another significant event for China to expand its diplomatic layout and will undoubtedly leave deep impressions in history. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Central Committee of the CPC, with President Xi Jinping as its General Secretary, have accurately grasped the new features and changes of both domestic and international overall situations, adhered to integrating inheritance and development, vigorously boosted the innovation of both diplomatic theories and practices, and continuously injected distinct Chinese elements into contemporary international relations. Over the past two years, Chinese diplomacy has started with fruitful results, and the layout has been fully unfolded. The global partnership network has been constantly expanded, and the concept of win-win cooperation has gained more and more popularity. The year 2015 is a key year for China to comprehensively deepen reforms as well as a vital year to promote world peace and development. All the countries will commemorate the 70th anniversary of the world anti-fascist war and jointly make the Post-2015 Development Agenda. We should carefully study and comprehend the important connotations underlying President Xi Jinping's current visit and, with the spirit of the Central Conference on Work Relating to Foreign Affairs as guidance, promote the major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics in all directions, and make greater efforts for implementation of the "Four Comprehensives", realization of the Chinese Dream of great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and promotion of the lofty cause of world peace and development.
