Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met the press on Thursday in Nanning, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, after concluding an official trip to Southeast Asia. Since July 5, Wang has attended the seventh Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Bagan, Myanmar, the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Bali, Indonesia, visited five Southeast Asian countries and chaired bilateral mechanism meetings with Vietnam and Cambodia.
Wang said that Southeast Asia has always been a priority in China’s neighborhood diplomacy.
As the world enters a new period of turbulence and change, it is necessary for countries in Southeast Asia to strengthen strategic coordination, enhance solidarity and coordination, stand firm in the changing and chaotic international environment, steer the right course, prepare for a fresh start, and jointly safeguard the hard-won stability and development, Wang said.
Speaking of more than 60 activities held during the trip, Wang said the activities – focused on peace and development – consolidate China’s bilateral relations with its neighbors and make China’s voice on regional cooperation and global governance heard.
As for the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation mechanism, Wang stressed the necessity for further cooperation while praising the contribution it has made in boosting regional development and prosperity.
China has provided more than 200 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, said Wang, adding that, the bilateral trade volume between China and the other countries in the mechanism reached $398 billion in 2021, up 23 percent year on year.
He said the five Mekong countries of Southeast Asia and China can complement each other in infrastructure construction, industrialization and agriculture modernization, adding that in the future the six countries in the mechanism will enhance bilateral or multilateral cooperation in areas including agriculture, water resources, public health and digital innovation.
He said the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting, the first to be held offline since the COVID-19 pandemic, reflects all relevant parties’ expectation to strengthen dialogue and cooperation to build a sound G20 mechanism.
All parties support the G20 in strengthening macroeconomic policy coordination, helping developing countries overcome current difficulties and playing a leading role in addressing health, food, energy, climate and other challenges, Wang said.
Wang also spoke about the meetings with his counterparts from Russia, Australia, Canada, South Korea and the United States.
China and Russia are committed to building a new model of major-country relationship based on the principles of non-alignment, non-confrontation and non-targeting of any third party, said Wang, adding that China is willing to cooperate with Russia in promoting a multi-polar world and democratic international relations. Wang said he felt Australia, Canada and South Korea all emphasize their relations with China after their person-to-person meetings.
The three countries all hope to strengthen exchanges with China, enhance mutual understanding and seek win-win cooperation.
As for his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Bali, Wang said he and Blinken both thought the meeting was constructive and accumulated conditions for the next stage of high-level exchanges between the two countries. – CGTN
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