Wang Yi: Jointly Resist Actions That Undermine Regional Peace, Stability and Prosperity

On December 4, 2021, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Malaysian Foreign Minister Dato' Saifuddin Abdullah jointly met the press after co-chairing the First China-Malaysia High Level Committee Meeting.

Wang Yi said that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of dialogue relations between China and ASEAN. The bilateral relations have always played a leading and exemplary role in regional cooperation, setting the most dynamic, fruitful and promising model for regional cooperation. Two weeks ago, President Xi Jinping and leaders of ASEAN countries jointly attended the ASEAN-China Special Summit to Commemorate the 30th Anniversary of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations and announced the upgrade of China-ASEAN ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership, which will bring new and major development opportunities for China-ASEAN relations.

In response to the journalist's question on how to view the opportunities and challenges facing the current regional situation, Wang Yi emphasized that the current regional situation is showing two completely different trends. One is the successful practice of China-ASEAN relations, which focuses on enhancing mutual trust, coordinating cooperation, and seeking common prosperity. This represents the development direction of the times and conforms to the common interests of all countries. It is undoubtedly on the right side of history. The other is to instigate ideological opposition, create barriers and splits, promote "wall-building" and "decoupling", and even attempt to provoke a "new Cold War", which will drag regional countries into a quagmire of confrontation. This is obviously going against the trend of history and standing on the wrong side of history.

Wang Yi said that the current regional situation has come to a new crossroads. China holds the position that all countries should be united rather than divided, inclusive rather than exclusive, and win-win rather than monopolized. What the countries need is cooperation and stability rather than confrontation and conflict. All countries should respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of each country, and refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of other countries or challenging the basic norms governing international relations. All countries in the region should be vigilant against and jointly resist actions that undermine regional peace, stability and prosperity. Only in this way can we maintain the sound momentum of development in the region, open up an even brighter future for the region, and make due contributions to the development and progress of human society.