— Keynote Speech by President Xi Jinping at the Boao Forum

for Asia Annual Conference 2013

(Boao, China, April 7, 2013)

In this balmy season with a clear sky and warm, coconut-scented breeze, I am so glad to meet all of you at the Annual Conference 2013 of the Boao Forum for Asia here in Hainan, a picturesque island embraced by the vast ocean.

Let me begin by extending, on behalf of the Chinese Government and people and also in my own name, a heartfelt welcome to you and warm congratulations on the opening of the Annual Conference of the Boao Forum.

Over the past 12 years since its birth, the Boao Forum for Asia has become an important forum with growing global influence. In Chinese culture, 12 years form a zodiac cycle. In this sense, the Boao Forum has reached a new starting point and I hope it will scale an even greater height.

The theme of the current annual conference, namely, Asia Seeking Development for All: Restructuring, Responsibility and Cooperation is a highly relevant one. I hope you will engage in an in-depth discussion on promoting development in Asia and beyond and thus contributing, with your vision and commitment, to peace, stability and prosperity in Asia and the world at large.

The world today is experiencing profound and complex changes. Countries have become increasingly inter-connected and inter-dependent. Several billion people in a large number of developing countries are embracing modernization. The trend of the times, namely, peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit, is gaining momentum.

On the other hand, our world is far from peaceful. Development remains a major challenge; the global economy has entered a period of profound readjustment, and its recovery remains elusive. The international financial sector is fraught with risks, protectionism of various forms is on the rise, countries still face many difficulties in adjusting economic structures, and the global governance mechanisms call for improvement. Achieving common development for all countries remains an uphill battle.

Asia is one of the most dynamic and promising regions in the world, and its development is closely connected with the development of other continents. Asian countries have energetically explored development paths suited to their national conditions and greatly boosted global development through their own development. Working side by side with the rest of the world in times of difficulty to tackle the international financial crisis, Asia has emerged as an important engine driving world economic recovery and growth. In recent years, Asia has contributed to over 50 percent of global growth, instilling much needed confidence in the world. What is more, Asia's cooperation with other regions of the world at regional and sub-regional levels has great vitality and promising prospects.

But we should also be keenly aware that Asia still faces many difficulties and challenges in boosting both its own development and joint development with other regions. The road ahead remains a bumpy and twisted one.

— Asia needs to transform and upgrade its development model in keeping with the trend of the times. Sustaining development is still of paramount importance to Asia, because only development holds the key to solving the major problems and difficulties it faces. It is important that we should shift the growth model, adjust the economic structure, make development more effective and make life better for our people.

— We need to make concerted efforts to resolve major difficulties to ensure stability in Asia. Stability in Asia now faces new challenges, as hotspot issues keep emerging, and both traditional and non-traditional security threats rise. Asian countries need to increase mutual trust and work together to ensure durable peace and stability in our region.

— We need to build on past success and make new progress in promoting cooperation in Asia. There are many mechanisms and initiatives for enhancing cooperation in Asia, and a lot of ideas on boosting such cooperation are being explored by various parties. What we need to do is to enhance mutual understanding, build consensus, and enrich and deepen cooperation so as to strike a balance among the interests of various parties and build mechanisms that bring benefits to all.

Mankind has only one earth, and it is home to all countries. Common development, which is the very foundation of sustainable development, serves the long-term and fundamental interests of all the people in the world. As members of the same global village, we should foster a sense of community of common destiny, follow the trend of the times, keep to the right direction, stick together in times of difficulty and ensure that development in Asia and the rest of the world reaches new highs.

First, we should boldly break new ground so as to create an inexhaustible source of power for boosting common development. Over the years, many countries and regions have developed a lot of good practices in maintaining stability and promoting growth. We should continue such practices. However, nothing in the world remains constant, and as a Chinese saying goes, a wise man changes as time and events change. We should abandon the outdated mindset, break away from the old confines that fetter development and unleash all the potential for development. We should redouble efforts to shift the growth model and adjust the economic structure, raise the quality of development and make life better for the people. We should steadily advance the reform of the international economic and financial systems, improve global governance mechanisms and provide support to sound and stable global economic growth. Asia, with its long-standing capacity for adjusting to change, should ride on the waves of the times and make changes in Asia and global development reinforce and benefit each other.

Second, we should work together to uphold peace so as to provide a security safeguard for boosting common development. Peace is the ever-lasting wish of our people. Peace, like air and sunshine, is hardly noticed when people are benefiting from it. But none of us can live without it. Without peace, development is out of the question. Countries, whether big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, should all contribute their share to maintaining and enhancing peace. Rather than undercutting each other's efforts, countries should complement each other and work for joint progress. The international community should advocate the vision of comprehensive security, common security and cooperative security so as to turn our global village into a big stage for common development, rather than an arena where gladiators fight each other. And no one should be allowed to throw a region and even the whole world into chaos for selfish gains. With growing interaction among countries, it is inevitable that they encounter frictions here and there. What is important is that they should resolve differences through dialogue, consultation and peaceful negotiations in the larger interest of the sound growth of their relations.

Third, we should boost cooperation as an effective vehicle for enhancing common development. As we often say in China, a single flower does not make spring, while one hundred flowers in full blossom bring spring to the garden. All countries in the world are closely linked and share converging interests. They should both pool and share their strengths. While pursuing its own interests, a country should accommodate the legitimate concerns of others. In pursuing their own development, countries should promote the common development of all and expand common interests among them. We should enhance South-South cooperation and North-South dialogue, promote balanced development of the developing and developed countries and consolidate the foundation for sustaining the stable growth of the global economy. We need to work vigorously to create more cooperation opportunities, upgrade cooperation, and deliver more development dividends to our people and contribute more to global growth.

Fourth, we should remain open and inclusive so as to create a broad space for enhancing common development. The ocean is vast because it admits hundreds of rivers. We should respect the right of a country to independently choose its social system and development path, remove distrust and misgivings and turn the diversity of our world and difference among countries into a dynamism and driving force for development. We should keep an open mind, draw upon development practices of other continents, share development resources and promote regional cooperation. During the first decade and more of the new century, trade within Asia has increased from $800 billion to $3 trillion, and its trade with other regions has grown from $1.5 trillion to $4.8 trillion. This shows that cooperation in Asia is open and it goes hand in hand with Asia's cooperation with other regions, and everyone has benefited from such cooperation. Asia should welcome non-Asian countries to play a constructive role in ensuring stability and development of the region. Likewise, non-Asian countries should respect Asia's diversity and its long-standing tradition of cooperation. This will create a dynamic environment in which Asia and other regions enjoy mutually reinforced progress.

China is an important member of the Asian and the global family. China cannot develop itself in isolation from the rest of Asia and the world. On its part, the rest of Asia and the world cannot enjoy prosperity and stability without China.

In November last year, the Communist Party of China held its 18th National Congress, which drew up the blueprint for China's development in the years to come. The main goals we set for China are as follows: By 2020, China's GDP and per-capita incomes for urban and rural residents will double the 2010 figures, and the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects will be completed. By the mid-21st century, China will be turned into a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious; and the Chinese dream, namely, the great renewal of the Chinese nation, will be realized. Looking ahead, we are full of confidence in China's future.

On the other hand, we are aware that China remains the world's largest developing country, and it faces many difficulties and challenges on its road to progress. We need to make relentless efforts in the years ahead to deliver a better life to all our people. We are unwaveringly committed to reform and opening up, and we will concentrate on the major task of shifting the growth model, focus on running our own affairs well and make continued efforts to boost the socialist modernization drive.

As a Chinese saying goes, neighbors wish each other well, just as loved ones do to each other. China will continue to promote friendship and partnership with its neighbors, consolidate friendly ties and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation and ensure that its development will bring even greater benefits to its neighbors.

China will vigorously promote development and prosperity in both Asia and the world. Since the beginning of the new century, China's trade with its neighbors has grown from $100 billion and more to $1.3 trillion. China has become the largest trading partner, the biggest export market and a major source of investment of many of these countries. China's interests have never been so closely connected with those of the rest of Asia and the world in both scope and depth. Going forward, China will maintain robust growth momentum. Its domestic demand, particularly consumption-driven demand, will continue to grow, and its outbound investment will increase substantially. It is projected that in the coming five years, China's import will reach some $10 trillion, its outbound investment $500 billion and the number of its outbound tourists over 400 million. The more China grows, the more development opportunities it will create for the rest of Asia and the world.

We are firm in our resolve to uphold peace and stability in Asia and the world. Knowing too well the agonizing sufferings inflicted by war and turbulence, the Chinese people deeply cherish peace. China will continue to develop by securing a peaceful international environment and, at the same time, uphold and promote world peace through its own development. China will continue to properly handle differences and frictions with relevant countries. On the basis of firmly upholding its sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, China will maintain good relations with its neighbors for overall peace and stability in our region. China will continue to play a constructive role in addressing regional and global hotspot issues, encourage dialogue and talks for peace, and work tirelessly to solve relevant issues properly through dialogue and negotiations.

We will energetically promote regional cooperation in Asia and around the world. China will increase connectivity with its neighbors, actively explore the building of a regional financing platform, advance economic integration within the region and thus increase its competitiveness. China will take an active part in Asia's regional cooperation process and promote regional and sub-regional cooperation with non-Asian regions and countries. China will continue to champion and promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, step up bilateral investment with other countries and boost cooperation in new priority areas. China firmly supports Asia's opening up to and cooperation with other regions so as to promote common development. China is committed to narrowing the North-South gap and supports other developing countries in their efforts to enhance capacity for self-development.

Promoting good neighborliness is a time-honored tradition in China. To enhance peaceful development and win-win cooperation in Asia and the world is a race that has one starting point after another and knows no finish line. We in China are ready to join hands with friends from across the world in a concerted effort to create a bright future for both Asia and the world and bring benefit to Asian people and people around the world.