State visits to enhance mutual understanding

President Xi Jinping will start on Monday his first overseas trip this year with state visits to Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia, to promote friendly cooperation and enhance mutual understanding and trust with neighboring countries, the Foreign Ministry announced on Friday.

Expectations are high that Xi's upcoming five-day visit to Southeast Asia will provide new impetus for peace and development in the region and beyond.

The visit also comes days after China reiterated its commitment to the principles of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness in its neighborhood diplomacy, at a central conference on work related to neighboring countries.

"Neighboring countries are China's priority in its diplomacy. China and Southeast Asian countries are good neighbors, good friends and good partners with a shared future," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Friday at a regular news briefing in Beijing.

Xi's state visit to Vietnam, from Monday to Tuesday, will be his fourth visit to the socialist neighbor since 2013. During his last trip at the end of 2023, the leaders of the two countries jointly pledged to build a China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance.

As this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Vietnam, Lin said Beijing looks forward to working with Hanoi to strengthen the traditional friendship, enhance strategic mutual trust and deepen practical cooperation, thus making greater contributions to building a community with a shared future for mankind.

According to the spokesman, Xi's visit to Malaysia will be his first in 12 years and marks an important milestone in elevating and upgrading China-Malaysia relations. Lin expressed expectations that the two countries will further strengthen political and security cooperation, deepen the alignment of their development strategies, enhance cultural exchanges and mutual learning, and improve coordination on international and regional issues.

The visit can also serve as an opportunity for China and Malaysia, both important developing countries and emerging economies in the Asia-Pacific region, to make new contributions to the solidarity and self-reliance of the Global South and to regional peace, stability and development, he said.

China and Cambodia share a longstanding traditional friendship. In recent years, the two countries have achieved solid outcomes benefiting both peoples under the Diamond Hexagon bilateral cooperation framework covering six priority areas of politics, production capacity, agriculture, energy, security and people-to-people exchanges.

Xi's visit to Cambodia will be his first in nine years. During his trip, the two sides will discuss the new orientation of bilateral ties and exchange in-depth views on five key areas — political mutual trust, mutually beneficial cooperation, security guarantees, cultural exchanges and strategic collaboration, the spokesman said.

"We believe President Xi's visit will make the building of a China-Cambodia community with a shared future more relevant in the new era, push for more positive outcomes in the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership, and deliver more benefits to the two peoples," Lin added.