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1 May, 2014

China eyes “milestone” May 20-21 summit on security cooperation in Asia

BEIJING, April 29 (Xinhua) — China hopes the upcoming Shanghai summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) will be a milestone for security cooperation in the region, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Tuesday.

Spokesman Qin Gang said at a daily news briefing, “We will tell the world that security in Asia should be determined by Asian countries, and the countries are able and wise enough to safeguard and promote security in Asia through cooperation.”

The Shanghai summit, to be held from May 20 to 21, is expected to be the largest ever in the history of CICA. It will be the fourth CICA summit.

Delegations from nearly 40 countries and international organizations will attend, with 14 heads of state and government leaders and eight international organization chiefs confirming their presence, according to the spokesman. Chinese President Xi Jinping will chair the summit.

Qin said the security situation in Asia is increasingly complex although the pursuit for peace, development and cooperation is the mainstream trend in the region.

New and old security challenges and threats are interwoven in Asia, said the spokesman.

Qin said it is the common aspiration for people of all Asian countries to achieve common prosperity through cooperation in a peaceful and stable environment.

Hailing CICA as the largest multilateral security forum that covers different countries, civilizations, religions and development stages, Qin said it is meaningful for Asian countries to discuss with each other on safeguarding and promoting security in the continent on such an inclusive platform.

As CICA chair from 2014 to 2016, China will communicate with all other sides concerned to make the summit effective and productive, said the spokesman.

CICA was established in 1993 as a forum for dialogue and consultations and promotion of confidence-building measures among its members. It now has 20 member countries from east, central, southeast and south Asia, as well as the Middle East.