Xi says China to strengthen ties with neighbours, in first public speech amid US trade war escalation

Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged to strengthen strategic bonds with neighbouring nations by “appropriately” managing differences and enhanced supply chain ties.

His remarks, which were delivered at a two-day central neighbours work conference that wrapped up on Wednesday (Apr 9), marked the Chinese leader’s first public speech since the escalation of a trade war between Beijing and Washington.

During the high-profile gathering, Xi said that “building a community of a shared future” will prioritise China’s diplomacy with its neighbouring countries.

China’s relations with its neighbours were “at the best level they have been in modern history”, a release from the official Xinhua news agency stated on Wednesday.

“At the same time, (we) are entering a pivotal stage deeply intertwined with shifts in regional dynamics and global developments,” the statement read.

The conference marked the first dedicated session held by China’s top leadership on neighbourhood diplomacy since 2013.

It was the latest sign of the growing focus that China’s decision makers have placed on relations with other Asia nations - which Beijing characterised in 2023 as “always at the top of the country’s overall diplomatic agenda” – amid the increasingly fierce strategic competition with the United States.

China also pledged to consolidate strategic mutual trust, support regional nations in steadily pursuing their own development paths, and properly manage differences, according to Xinhua. Beijing also called for deepening economic integration by boosting connectivity and strengthening industrial and supply chain cooperation.

Joint efforts should be made to safeguard regional stability through security and law enforcement collaboration to address various risks and challenges, the Xinhua statement said, adding that China’s leadership pledged to boost people-to-people exchanges.

Xi addressed the meeting just days before his expected coming visits to Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia, all important neighbours for China.

China is among a group of countries with the most neighbours in the world, sharing land borders with 14 nations – a distinction it shares with Russia – while facing eight other nearby countries, including US allies Japan, South Korea and the Philippines.

The Indo-Pacific region, where China is located, includes the disputed South China Sea, which has become a major source of tension in a geopolitical chess game between the Asian country and the US.

“Our country has vast territory and long borders, which makes the surrounding region an important foundation for achieving development and prosperity, a key area for safeguarding national security, the primary element in coordinating overall diplomatic work, and the crucial driver in building a community of a shared future for mankind,” the statement said.

This article was first published on SCMP.