Diplomacy to Foster an Amicable, Secure and Prosperous Neighborhood Environment

The core concept of China's peripheral neighbourhood diplomacy in the New era. Fostering Amicable neighborhood enviroment, that is, to live in harmony with neighboring countries and jointly maintain regional peace and stability; to achieve secure neighborhood means being sincere and building mutual trust, that is, resolve differences with sincerity and persist in promoting friendship and mutual trust through dialogue and cooperation, and to resolve differences through negotiations, so as to create a good environment for the harmonious development of Asia; and thirdly to build prosperous neighborhood enviiroment means persisting in enriching neighborhood, that is, to strengthen cooperation with neighboring countries, promote regional cooperation and achieve common development and prosperity.

On October 7, 2003, at the first ASEAN Business and Investment Summit held in Bali, Indonesia, the Chinese government put forward the principle of “amicable, secure and prosperous” neighborhood enviroment for the first time. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the leading collective of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core has further developed this concept and policy.

At the Central Foreign Affairs work Conference held in November 2014, Xi Jinping pointed out that it is necessary to earnestly do a good job in neighborhood diplomatic work, build a community with a shared future, implement the neighborhood policy of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness; and adhere to good-neighborliness, and partnership with neighboring countries. We will persist in foster an amicable, secure and prosperous neighborhood, and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, and connectivity with neighboring countries. The diplomatic concept of an amicable, secure and prosperous neighborhood is not only the inevitable requirement of the socialist diplomatic line with Chinese characteristics, but also the inheritance of Chinese excellent traditional culture such as “helping together”, “benevolence and good neighborliness” and “peace among all nations”. China has 14 land neighbors, adjacent to or facing 8 countries at sea, and is one of the countries with the largest number of neighbors in the world. The neigborhood periphery is the place for our country to settle down and the foundation for development and prosperity. Chinese Dream, which will realize socialist modernization and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, must properly handle relations with neighboring countries and create a favorable surrounding environment.

Since the beginning of the new century, China has established strategic cooperative partnerships with major neighboring countries and cooperation mechanisms, such as ASEAN, Russia, India, Japan, South Korea and others. China is the first major country to join “The Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in Southeast Asia”. China has always supported the leading position of ASEAN in regional cooperation. In regional security cooperation and handling disputes between China and its neighbors, China advocates and practices a new security concept centered on mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and cooperation. Since the 1990s, China began to participate in almost all regional cooperation. China advocates that regional security cooperation models should be flexible and diverse, including multilateral security mechanisms, multilateral security dialogue, bilateral security consultations, and unofficial security dialogue. China has actively participated in the ASEAN Regional Forum, participated in the establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, promoted the six-Party talks on the DPRK nuclear issue, supported the Conference on Mutual Cooperation and confidence measures in Asia, and actively supported nuclear non-proliferation efforts in the region. China also attaches great importance to cooperation with neighboring countries in dealing with non-traditional security issues, and has participated in cooperation in counter-terrorism, maritime search and rescue, anti-piracy and drug trafficking, and prevention and control of infectious diseases. China has solved 90% of the land border issue with its neighbors, fully delineated the border with Russia, and reached political guiding principles for resolving the border issue with India.

On the South China Sea issue, China has actively taken measures to resolve the dispute by peaceful means, put forward the initiative of “shelving disputes and joint development”, delineated the maritime boundary of the Beibu Gulf with Vietnam, and signed the Declaration on the Conduct of parties in the South China Sea with ASEAN. In order to resolve the dispute between China and Japan over the continental shelf of the East China Sea, China has put forward positive suggestions to Japan on the joint development of the East China Sea.

Since the Reform and Opening-up, especially since the beginning of the 21st century, China has repeatedly cancelled the maturing debts of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. China has become the largest trading partner and the fastest growing market of ASEAN. China actively participates in and promotes regional economic cooperation and has formed a profound interdependent relationship with its neighboring countries.

China is not only an important member of the two economic cooperation mechanisms of “ASEAN + 3” and “ASEAN + 1”, but also an active member in the construction of the East Asian Community. China's deep participation in the “Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Cooperation” has become a model for developing countries to join hands and work together for the purpose of self-reliance and self-improvement. In 2010, China and ASEAN established the “China-ASEAN Free Trade Area”. Since 2013, China has advocated and led the strategic concept of “Silk Road Economic Belt” and the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road”, which decisively and massively reflects China’s foreign policy of “fostering an amicable, secure and prosperous neighborhood”.

The proposal and practice of the foreign policy of “fostering an amicable, secure and prosperous neighborhood” has enhanced the understanding and trust of neighboring countries towards China, and injected new vitality into the creation of a new situation in China's neighborhood diplomacy.