Column: China's community with a shared future with neighboring countries: a new pathway to global stability, prosperity

by Gong Rong

From April 14 to 18, Chinese President Xi Jinping paid state visits to Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia. This was the first foreign trip made by China's top leader since the recent central conference on work related to neighboring countries.

While the United States is blatantly pursuing unilateralism, protectionism and hegemonism, China remains committed to the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind. China and fellow Asian countries are sending a strong message that they will strengthen solidarity and collaboration, seek development and revitalization, and firmly safeguard peace and stability in the region.

The visits consolidated mutual trust that helps build a community with a shared future between China and its neighboring countries. Southeast Asia stands as a model region for building a community with a shared future for mankind. China has reached agreements with Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia, among other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, to build bilateral communities with a shared future.

President Xi's visits have given a strong boost to these community-building efforts. China and Vietnam stressed the need to accelerate the building of a community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, with the aim of achieving higher-quality, win-win cooperation and closer strategic collaboration. China and Malaysia agreed to elevate their bilateral relationship to a high-level strategic China-Malaysia community with a shared future, marking the beginning of another "golden 50 years" in their relations. China and Cambodia pledged to build an all-weather China-Cambodia community with a shared future in the new era, and agreed to take the lead in implementing the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative.

China and the three Southeast Asian countries reaffirmed their support for each other in pursuing development paths suited to respective national conditions, and in defending each other's core interests. This vividly embodied the very essence of a community with a shared future featuring solidarity, mutual respect, mutual trust and mutual assistance.

The visits strengthened solidarity that helps safeguard peace and stability. As geopolitical conflicts intensify, the security landscape becomes more complex and major-power competition turns fiercer, the model of security for Asia -- one that features sharing weal and woe, seeking common ground while shelving differences, and prioritizing dialogue and consultation -- has been widely welcomed by countries in the region.

During the visits, China and Vietnam upgraded their "3+3" strategic dialogue, which covers diplomacy, defense and public security, to the ministerial level. China also established a "2+2" strategic dialogue on diplomacy and defense with Cambodia and Malaysia. The China-Cambodia Joint Support and Training Center at Port Ream was officially inaugurated and hosted the launch of the "Golden Dragon-2025" joint exercise.

All parties reiterated that they would transform Asia into a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable home, safeguard the United Nations (UN)-centered international system and the international order underpinned by international law, and promote an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization. All this demonstrates Asia's unwavering commitment to peace, stability, equity and justice.

These visits encouraged win-win cooperation that helps realize modernization for all. In the face of the United States' economic bullying, China remains unwavering in its commitment to high-standard opening-up, sharing development opportunities with the rest of the world, and creating mutual prosperity. This is what a responsible major country should do.

China is fostering greater synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and the development strategies of the three countries at a faster pace, and strengthening regional connectivity and cooperation in production and supply chains -- for example, closer railway cooperation and newly established commercial aircraft cooperation with Vietnam, upgraded "Two Countries, Twin Parks" cooperation with Malaysia, greater support for Cambodia's "Industrial Development Corridor" and "Fish and Rice Corridor," and expanded cooperation with all three countries on new quality productive forces including the digital economy, clean energy, 5G and artificial intelligence.

No "small yard with high fences" or decoupling attempts can thwart a country's aspirations for development and revitalization. Chinese modernization will present new opportunities for regional countries to modernize together and deliver a better life for all.

These visits endorsed mutual learning between civilizations that helps uphold Asian values. China has a long history of friendly exchanges with Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia. They all stand for the Asian values of peace, cooperation, openness and inclusiveness.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of China-Vietnam diplomatic relations, as well as the China-Vietnam Year of People-to-People Exchanges. During the visit, General Secretary Xi Jinping and General Secretary To Lam jointly met with representatives attending the Chinese and Vietnamese People's Friendship Meeting. General Secretary Xi also invited young people from Vietnam to China for the "Red Study Tours" program to explore both countries' revolutionary past.

China and Malaysia established a permanent mutual visa exemption arrangement, agreed to promote a meaningful Confucian-Islamic civilizational dialogue at the regional level, and advanced their cooperation on giant panda research and radio and TV broadcasting.

China and Cambodia designated 2025 as the China-Cambodia Year of Tourism to strengthen cooperation in cultural heritage, education and youth. Closer people-to-people ties will certainly provide solid public support for building a community with a shared future between China and its neighboring countries.

Amidst transformations not seen in a century, the vision of building a community with a shared future between China and its neighboring countries has been translated from concept to concrete actions. A future of stability, development and prosperity jointly created by Asian countries will bring greater stability, certainty and prosperity to this turbulent world.

Editor's note: Gong Rong is a commentator on international affairs.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Xinhua News Agency.