Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech via video at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022 on April 21, 2022. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING – Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday called for making Asia an anchor for world peace, a powerhouse for global growth and a new pacesetter for international cooperation. 

He made the remarks while delivering a keynote speech via video at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022. 

People in Asia deeply cherish the value of peace and understand that development gains do not come easily as they have been through hot and cold wars, hardships and tribulations, said the Chinese leader. 

“Over the past decades, Asia has enjoyed overall stability and sustained rapid growth, making possible the Asian Miracle," he said, adding that the whole world benefits when Asia fares well. 

FULL TEXT: President Xi's keynote speech at opening ceremony of BFA annual conference 2022

He called for efforts to continue developing and strengthening Asia, and demonstrate Asia's resilience, wisdom and strength. 

Xi stressed resolutely safeguarding peace in Asia, vigorously advancing Asian cooperation and jointly promoting Asian unity. 

All should follow the path of peace and development, seek win-win cooperation, and contribute to an Asian family of unity and progress together.

Xi Jinping, President, China

"Peace and stability in our region does not fall into our lap automatically or come as charity from any country. Rather, it is the result of the joint efforts of countries in the region." 

Xi said the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and the Bandung Spirit, first advocated by Asia, are all the more relevant today. 

He urged honoring the principles of mutual respect, equality, mutual benefit and peaceful coexistence, following a policy of good-neighborliness and friendship, and making sure that Asia always keeps its future in the region's own hands. 

Highlighting win-win cooperation a sure path to Asian development, Xi called for fostering a more open Asia-wide market and making new strides in mutually beneficial cooperation. 

Countries, no matter their size and strength, and both in and outside the region, should all add splendor rather than trouble to Asia, he said. 

"All should follow the path of peace and development, seek win-win cooperation, and contribute to an Asian family of unity and progress together.” 

Hailing the broad-mindedness of Asians, he called for choosing dialogue and cooperation over zero-sum games, openness and inclusiveness over a closed-door and exclusive approach, and exchanges and mutual learning over a sense of superiority. 

Xi also stressed ASEAN centrality in the regional architecture, and called for upholding a regional order that balances the aspirations and accommodates the interests of all parties.   

Xi proposes Global Security Initiative 

The Chinese president proposed a Global Security Initiative to promote security for all in the world. 

He stressed the importance to remain committed to the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and work together to maintain world peace and security; and to stay committed to respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, uphold non-interference in internal affairs, and respect the independent choices of development paths and social systems made by people in different countries. 

Photo taken on April 19, 2022 shows the Boao Forum for Asia International Conference Center in Boao, South China's Hainan province. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

He also underscored the need to abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, reject the Cold War mentality, oppose unilateralism, and say no to group politics and bloc confrontation. 

Xi also stressed the need to stay committed to taking the legitimate security concerns of all countries seriously, uphold the principle of indivisible security, build a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture, and oppose the pursuit of one's own security at the cost of others' security. 

"It is important that we stay committed to peacefully resolving differences and disputes between countries through dialogue and consultation, support all efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of crises, reject double standards, and oppose the wanton use of unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction.” 

The Chinese president also underscored the importance of staying committed to maintaining security in both traditional and non-traditional domains, and work together on regional disputes and global challenges such as terrorism, climate change, cybersecurity and biosecurity.

‘Embrace bright future’ 

 To break through the mist and embrace a bright future, the biggest strength comes from cooperation and the most effective way is through solidarity, President Xi said. 

It is important that we stay committed to abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, reject the Cold War mentality, oppose unilateralism, and say no to group politics and bloc confrontation.

Xi Jinping, President, China

Noting that humanity is a community with a shared future where all people rise and fall together, thie Chinese leader called on all countries to follow the trend of the times featuring peace, development and win-win cooperation, move in the direction of building a community with a shared future for mankind, and rise to challenges and build a bright future through cooperation. 

People-centered approach  

Stressing following a people-centered approach and placing development and people's well-being high on the agenda when promoting economic recovery, President Xi said when policies are implemented, measures adopted and actions taken, “we should always give top priority to bettering people's lives”. 

“The COVID-19 pandemic has seriously eroded the gains the world has made in poverty reduction over the past decade. Uneven recovery is aggravating inequality across the world, further widening the North-South divide.” 

Global industrial and supply chains should be kept stable, while serious negative spillovers from policy adjustments in some countries should be prevented, he said. 

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To address uneven and inadequate development, Xi stressed paying due attention to the pressing needs of developing countries, and advancing practical cooperation in key areas such as poverty reduction, food security, development financing and industrialization. 

Chinese economy to provide dynamism for global recovery 

The Chinese economy will provide great dynamism for the stability and recovery of the world economy and broader market opportunities for all countries, said Xi. 

The fundamentals of the Chinese economy – its strong resilience, enormous potential, vast room for maneuver and long-term sustainability – remain unchanged, he said, adding that China's faith in and its commitment to reform and opening-up will not waver no matter how the world will change. 

Defending people's lives, health 

Stressing the need to work together to defend people's lives and health, President Xi said, “Safety and health are the prerequisite for human development and progress.” 

For humanity to clinch a final victory against the COVID-19 pandemic, more hard efforts are needed. It is essential that countries support each other, better coordinate response measures and improve global public health governance, so as to form strong international synergy against the pandemic, he said.

China has provided over 2.1 billion doses of vaccines to more than 120 countries and international organizations. Be it in delivering vaccines abroad or producing them overseas, China has honored its commitments with concrete actions, said the Chinese leader. 

China will follow through the pledged donation of 600 million and 150 million doses of vaccines to Africa and ASEAN countries respectively, as part of the effort to close the immunization gap, he added.