China reiterated Friday to resolve difference with neighbors concerning territorial land, territorial sea and maritime rights and interests peacefully through friendly negotiations.

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping addresses the opening ceremony of the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit and Forum on China-ASEAN Free Trade Area in Nanning, capital of southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Sept. 21, 2012. [Xie Huanchi/Xinhua]

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping made the remarks as he addressed the opening ceremony of the ninth China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit and 2012 Forum on China-ASEAN Free Trade Area held in south China's Nanning City.

"The more progress China makes in development and the closer its links with the region and the world, the more important it is for the country to have a stable regional environment and a peaceful international environment," Xi said.

The ASEAN, or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

"Having gone through numerous vicissitudes in modern times, we are deeply aware of the importance of development and the preciousness of peace," Xi said, adding that China will be all the more determined to go for peaceful development, follow the win-win strategy of opening-up, and implement the policy of building friendship and partnerships with neighboring countries.

Xi said China will always be a staunch force for peace and stability in the region and the world at large.

"We are firm in safeguarding China's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity and are committed to resolving difference with neighbors concerning territorial land, territorial sea and maritime rights and interests peacefully through friendly negotiations," said the vice president.

"We will never seek hegemony, nor behave in a hegemonic manner," he said.

"By peaceful development, we mean to develop ourselves by upholding world peace and to uphold world peace through our own development," he said.

At the opening ceremony, Xi also said the current economic situation in China is "generally sound."

"We have full confidence in our ability to speed up the shift of growth model, stabilize external demand, expand domestic demand and build a society of higher level initial prosperity in an all-round way that benefits the over one billion people," he said.

Xi said China's development is peaceful, open, cooperative and win-win-oriented.

"In the second decade of this century, China will develop an open economy in an all-round way by deepening trade and economic cooperation with developed countries, strengthening mutually-beneficial cooperation with developing countries, and expanding results-oriented cooperation with neighboring countries," he said, adding that China will step up the improvement of the opening pattern for its regions by deepening openness of its coastal areas, accelerating openness of its inland and border areas, and seeking common development with neighboring countries.

"Facts have shown, and will continue to show, that China's sustained development and prosperity offer an important and lasting window of opportunities to its neighbors, and promise important development opportunities to countries around the world, ASEAN countries included," Xi said.

At present, global economic growth remains sluggish with the European debt crisis continuing unabated and uncertainties and destabilizing factors existing side by side, Xi said.

"Despite many difficulties and challenges, Asia has on the whole maintained the momentum of a fairly rapid growth," Xi said, adding that China and the ASEAN, as friendly and close neighbors and strategic partners, need to size up the situation and work together to deepen cooperation for sustained development. 

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