Shanghai – The theme of the 4th CICA summit is increasing dialogue, mutual trust and collaboration to build a new Asia, that’s peaceful, stable and cooperative. Chinese president Xi Jinping gave a keynote speech at the opening ceremony this morning. He outlined China’s stance on security in Asia and the future development of CICA itself. He called on Asian countries to take the lead in resolving regional affairs.

“Asia covers nearly 70 percent of the world population and contributes to one-third of the global economy. The stability and development in Asia plays a crucial role in the world,” Xi said.

Asia is a region with diversity and potential for growth, yet there are conventional and non-conventional threats. How to maintain its vitality and security has become an urgent issue for all the countries in the region.

“With the changing of times, we cannot let ourselves still stay in a cold war mindset. We should promote a sustainable security outlook on Asia by upholding the ideas of commonality and cooperation,” Xi said.

President Xi says the pursuit of security is universal, equal and inclusive. He proposed a four-point proposal on security cooperation in Asia.

He says that China wants to promote CICA as a platform for dialogue that covers all of Asia. In addition, China aims to enhance the capability of the CICA secretariat to deepen cooperation on anti-terrorism, trade and in the humanitarian sector, to increase CICA’s recognition by building communication networks among all member states, and to enhance openness and inclusiveness by increasing dialogue.

“China advocates Asia’s security outlook and at the same time it has put the idea into practice. China will work on dialogue and cooperation with all sides to make Asian countries become good partners based on mutual trust and equal cooperation. Regular security forums and security emergency centers are expected to be set up to promote communication among all countries,” Xi said.

Leaders from 47 countries and international organizations are participating in the summit, making it the largest conference in its history.

President Xi’s speech reflects the general view of the member states on security cooperation in Asia. CICA hopes to provide a platform for regional leaders to build mutual trust and demonstrate their commitments to cooperation. As the chair of the forum in the following two years, China is expected to make the communication mechanism more solid and practical. Source: Xinhua