On October 12, 2021, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the Sixth Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) via video link and delivered a speech themed "Leveraging the CICA's Cooperation Advantages and Building an Asian Community with a Shared Future".
Wang Yi said that during the past 29 years since its inception, the CICA has responded to the evolving circumstances and expanded the cooperation on confidence building measures, playing an integral role in building a secure, stable, prosperous, open, inclusive, cooperative and innovative Asia based on mutual respect and mutual trust. China has always participated in and facilitated the CICA process. President Xi Jinping attended the CICA Summit in person and called on all parties to practice the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, explore the path of security and development in compliance with Asia's characteristics and the common interest of Asian countries, and build an Asian community with a shared future. His speech was well-received by all participants. Looking into the future, China is ready to shoulder the responsibilities as the coordinator in various areas and make a new and greater contribution to boosting the CICA cooperation.
Wang Yi said that in the face of the pandemic and profound changes unseen in a century, the CICA, as the most representative cross-civilization and cross-region multilateral forum of security cooperation in this region, needs to keep up with the times, leverage its cooperation advantages, diversify cooperation practices, and contribute wisdom and strength to building an Asian community with a shared future.
First, we need to continue to deepen anti-pandemic cooperation. China has always upheld the concept of a global community of health for all, and advocated making vaccines a global public good. Despite its own difficulties, China has provided the international community with a total of over 1.4 billion doses of finished and bulk vaccines. China also announced that on top of the 100 million U.S. dollars donation to COVAX, it will donate an additional 100 million doses of vaccines to developing countries. China calls on all parties to jointly follow a science-based approach, continue to oppose politicalizing the pandemic, using the origin-tracing as a tool and stigmatizing the virus, and effectively strengthen the global anti-pandemic cooperation.
Second, we need to work together to safeguard security and stability. We need to continue to abide by the CICA's cooperation concept of equality, mutual respect, consensus, and non-interference in internal affairs. We need to continue to bridge divides with dialogue, resolve disputes through negotiation, and properly address traditional and non-traditional security threats and challenges, to promote the long-term security of the region. Afghanistan needs to proceed towards inclusiveness, openness, counter-terrorism and good-neighborliness. All parties should meet Afghanistan halfway and create enabling conditions for its reconstruction and development. We should see through the nature of the AUKUS trilateral security partnership and the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy and jointly oppose any attempt that violates the common will of regional countries and sabotages regional peace and stability.
Third, we need to actively promote economic recovery. We hope that all parties will actively support and join the Global Development Initiative, accelerate the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and jointly promote more robust, greener and more balanced global development. We need to unswervingly promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation to boost the full recovery of the regional economy. China is ready to leverage its super-large market to provide more opportunities and stronger drivers for the economic recovery of all Asian countries in the post-COVID era.
Fourth, we need to firmly practice multilateralism. We should reject the Cold War mentality and zero-sum game, oppose undermining the international order in the name of so-called "rules", firmly uphold the international system with the United Nations at its core, and vigorously advocate the common values of humanity consisting of peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom. We should jointly oppose unilateralism, hegemonism and power politics, pursue true multilateralism, and stand on the right side of history and the progressive side of mankind, making greater contributions to equity, justice, peace and security in the world.
Wang Yi stressed that the expanding CICA partnership network represents the growth of progressive forces in the international community, which will inject positive energy into the process of promoting democracy in international relations. China is ready to work with all parties to deepen the CICA process and deliver concrete results in the post-COVID era, so as to jointly promote regional development and stability, and build an Asian community with a shared future.
The meeting, with the theme of "Security and Sustainable Development in Asia in New Realities of the Post-Pandemic World", was attended by 40 CICA member states and observers. All parties exchanged in-depth views on the security situation in the CICA region, economic development in the post-pandemic era, addressing traditional and non-traditional security threats and challenges and implementing confidence building measures in various fields. All parties agreed to jointly promote the CICA to play a bigger role in promoting peace, cooperation, security and development, to speed up the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and to promote more robust, greener and more balanced global development. All parties stressed the need to abide by the UN Charter and universally recognized norms and principles of international law, enhance the effectiveness of multilateral cooperation, and work together to address new challenges and threats. All parties called on the international community to unite against the pandemic and support the WHO in playing its central role.
