CICA summit new arena for China's diplomacy

Chinese President Xi Jinping, his wife Peng Liyuan and guests attending the fourth summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) enter a banquet hall at the Shanghai International Conference Centre in Shanghai, May 20, 2014. Xi held a welcome banquet for guests attending the 4th CICA summit. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)

China's hosting of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) summit will usher in a new stage of diplomacy.

As a founding member of the CICA, China has always been an active participant and builder of the regional cooperation mechanism, established in 1992 as a forum for dialogue and consultations.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said earlier this year that the CICA is an important security forum. Together with the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in November, the two events are "key priorities for China's diplomacy this year", Wang said.

President Xi Jinping is scheduled to elaborate on China's diplomatic stance concerning Asian security at the summit.

Compared with the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, the CICA more focuses on such subjects as mutual and comprehensive security as well as cooperation to strengthen security. It also puts more emphasis on communication and trust.

Wednesday's CICA summit will be the largest ever, gathering 11 heads of state, one government head and 10 chiefs of international organizations including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

"With its extensive and representative membership, the CICA is a dialogue forum on Asian security issues covering the largest number of countries," said Qu Xing, head of China Institute of International Studies.

Qu said the CICA provides an important opportunity for China to promote multilateral diplomacy at home, and for other member countries to strengthen communication.

"The Asian countries are in different development levels with different interest pursuits," said Huang Renwei, vice president of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. "The summit will help gather wisdom and consensus, and convey China's adherence to peaceful development to other Asian countries."

As the host, China will push forward with equal consultation and peaceful cooperation to handle disputes.

Apart from diplomacy at government levels, the CICA will offer an opportunity for Asians to deepen understanding and trust.

This will lay a solid foundation for a new Asia of peace, stability and cooperation.