Full Text: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's speech at the luncheon of the Fourth World Peace Forum (2)

Third, China has actively honored its international obligations. Since the founding of New China, we have concluded over 23,000 bilateral treaties and agreements, acceded to over 400 multilateral treaties and almost all inter-governmental organizations and honored our due obligations. Since its accession to the WTO, China has worked to push forward multilateral trade talks and promote a range of bilateral and multilateral free trade arrangements in a devoted effort to advance international trade liberalization. This month, China signed free trade agreements with the ROK and Australia, raising the total number of FTAs it has reached to 14. If we count in the seven ongoing FTAs negotiations, the FTAs China has been involved in would cover more than 30 countries and regions.

Fourth, China has actively advocated exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations. We have established people-to-people exchange mechanisms with the United States, Russia, the UK, France, the EU and Indonesia, among others, and initiated the World Cultural Forum (Taihu, China) to promote exchanges and mutual learning between different ethnic groups, cultures and religions to increase mutual understanding and encourage respect for differences and harmonious coexistence.

Development is the bedrock of peace. China has contributed enormously to world peace and stability through its own economic development. It is estimated that China has consistently served as one of the main drivers of the global economy in the past 30 years, becoming the largest contributor to global growth since the international financial crisis. China, a strong and dynamic locomotive, is fueling the development of many other countries, thus creating a more favorable environment and laying a more solid foundation for the noble cause of peace.

Distinguished Guests,

Friends,

China is an Asia-Pacific country. As a member of the Asia-Pacific community, China is committed to the peace and stability of this region.

Over the decades, we have gradually put together a full-fledged, mature and multi-dimensional foreign policy towards our neighboring countries. This neighborhood policy is guided by important principles such as amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness. It is geared towards building amicable ties and partnerships with China's neighbors and advancing good-neighborliness, security and prosperity in the region. It is underpinned by the concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. It is inspired by a long-term vision of building an Asia-Pacific where countries live together in peace, pursue win-win cooperation and work together to forge a partnership and eventually create a community of common destiny. China's neighborhood policy is an important part of its overall diplomacy, which is in line with the purposes of the UN Charter and reflects China's socialist characteristics. More and more countries, especially those in the region, have come to recognize and welcome this policy.

Over the years, China has worked hard to deepen mutual understanding and trust with its neighbors. It has signed treaties of good-neighborliness and friendly cooperation with eight countries respectively and is ready to do the same with other willing neighbors to codify shared commitment to peace and friendly cooperation. China has fully settled its land boundary issues with 12 out of its 14 neighbors. We have a special representative mechanism on the boundary dispute with India and our border negotiations with Bhutan are going smoothly. China has steadily increased its military transparency and issued nine defense white papers, including the recent white paper on China's military strategy, in response to domestic and foreign concerns regarding China's military development. China has taken the initiative to discuss with ASEAN countries on the setting up of bilateral defense hotlines as a crisis management measure. We resumed consultations with Japan on a maritime and air liaison mechanism and are in the process of fleshing out the rules of behavior for the safety of air and maritime encounters with the United States. All this has taken our confidence building efforts with countries concerned to a higher level. (mo