Full text: Xi's joint written interview with media from Indonesia, Malaysia(3)

6. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of China-ASEAN strategic partnership. Over the past decade, relations between the two sides have come a long way. There is great interest in their future development direction, including ways to handle the South China Sea issue. How do you see the prospect of China-ASEAN relations in the next ten years?

China and ASEAN countries are linked by the same mountains and rivers and live alongside each other like members in one big family. The friendly exchanges between the two sides date back to a long time ago. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the China-ASEAN strategic partnership. The past decade saw mutual respect, equality, good-neighborliness, friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation as the defining features of relations between the two sides. Indeed the relationship has already gone beyond the bilateral scope and, as the bedrock for a prosperous and stable East Asia, taken on important regional and global significance.

Pursuing a foreign policy of fostering friendship and partnership with its neighbors, China is committed to bringing more benefits to the surrounding areas with its own development. We will unswervingly take ASEAN as a priority in our neighborhood diplomacy, deepen strategic partnership with ASEAN, and work with ASEAN to safeguard peace and stability in this region, including in the South China Sea. As for the differences and disputes between countries, China has always stood for their proper resolution through friendly negotiations and dialogue, and will work unremittingly to this end. China will continue to support ASEAN' s development, its community building and its centrality in East Asia cooperation.

As emerging markets in Asia, China and ASEAN are linked together by common destiny. Moreover, we hold out much hope for sustained economic growth in the region and the world as a whole. As developing economies, both China and ASEAN face a top task of growing the economy and improving people's livelihood. Our cooperation is aimed not only at creating broad horizon and inexhaustible business opportunities for ourselves, but also at making greater contribution to world prosperity and stability.

China-ASEAN relations have a tremendous growth potential and prospect of expansion. I suggest that the two sides work on the following in the immediate future: First, maintain high-level exchanges, enhance strategic communication and promote mutual trust. Second, elevate the level of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area by opening up our markets still wider to each other and advancing trade and investment liberalization and facilitation. Third, promote connectivity, establish an investment and financing platform for infrastructure development in Asia and resolve the bottleneck in this area. Fourth, give greater role to the China-ASEAN Maritime Cooperation Fund and carry out results-oriented maritime cooperation. Fifth, deepen defence and security cooperation, improve the mechanism for meetings between defence ministers of China and ASEAN countries, and actively promote exchanges and cooperation between the law enforcement and security authorities, so as to jointly safeguard peace and tranquility in this region. Sixth, step up people-to-people exchanges at various levels, especially those involving ordinary people in the interest of strengthening mutual understanding and friendship, so as to cement the popular and society-wide support for China-ASEAN friendly and good-neighborly relations. Seventh, step up coordination in international and regional affairs, work jointly to safeguard the rights and interests of developing countries and promote democracy in international relations.

7. ASEAN countries share the hope that China will stick to the path of peaceful development and that the Chinese dream and the dreams of other countries for better life and national development will reinforce each other. What's your comment?

The Chinese nation, over the past millennia, has formed such values as universal love, non-aggression, amity with neighbors, peace being most precious and harmony without uniformity. China has pursued a foreign policy of developing friendship and partnership with its neighbors, which has contributed significantly to Asia's stability and prosperity. In today's world, economic globalization and regional economic integration are gaining momentum and Asia has become an important engine driving world economic growth. Maintaining stability and development in Asia serves the interests of all Asian countries, China included, and China's destiny has long been closely connected with those of other Asian countries.

The Chinese people are striving to realize the Chinese dream of achieving the great renewal of the Chinese nation. Our goal is to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects by the centennial of the Communist Party of China and to turn China into a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious by the centennial of the People's Republic of China. To attain this goal, we need a peaceful and stable neighboring environment.

For us, pursuing the path of peaceful development is an inexorable choice to ensure the fundamental and long-term interests of the Chinese nation. China is firm in sticking to the path of peaceful development and will never waver in its choice.

The Chinese dream has much in common with the dreams of ASEAN countries, as they are all about achieving national development and prosperity and people's well-being and happiness. Exploiting our respective advantages and tapping our potential for win-win results, China and ASEAN countries can go hand in hand and help each other on the path toward our shared aspirations.