Diplomatic moves show China will not be cowed: China Daily editorial

With President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang both on visits to the Asia-Pacific region to attend international meetings this week, China is sending a strong message to the outside world that it is attaching more attention and importance to countries in its neighborhood and looking to strike an even more resonant note in implementing its neighborhood diplomacy.

From Nov 15 to 21, Xi is visiting Papua New Guinea, Brunei, and the Philippines and attending the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Papua New Guinea. And Li began an official trip to Singapore on Monday to engage in bilateral talks and to attend a series of meetings on East Asia cooperation with the leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the bloc's regional partners including Japan and the Republic of Korea.

During their trips the two leaders will be reinforcing the message that China is opening its doors wider for business and it is committed to common development and shared benefits.

As a practical demonstration of this, at their meeting on Wednesday, the leaders of China and the 10-member bloc adopted the China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership Vision 2030, which set out a blueprint for upgrading their cooperation.

This new cooperation framework has been forged in the year that marks the 15th anniversary of the China-ASEAN strategic partnership. It is supported by the three pillars of political and security cooperation, economic ties and people-to-people exchanges, reflecting the common aspiration of both sides to build a region of enduring peace and stability.

The vision is one of further integration and mutually-beneficial cooperation and provides a road map to narrow the development gaps in the region to the benefit of both sides.

Such a desirable picture, which is bolstered by China's recent efforts in improving and enhancing ties with other regional partners including the ROK, India, Japan and Australia, will in turn help China in its efforts to promote the building of a regional community with a shared future.

The trade war China has been dragged into by the United States has brought home to the region the necessity and importance of strengthening ties to uphold the world trade system.

By injecting even more vitality into its neighborhood diplomacy, China is helping to foster a dynamic Asia-Pacific, which will give it the confidence to stand up to the trade bullying of the United States, which in turn will be good for the Asia-Pacific.