3. China-India Relations

Since 2015 the China-India strategic and cooperative partnership for peace and prosperity has been further deepened. The two countries have set the goal of forging a closer development partnership, made new progress in exchanges and cooperation in various areas and stayed in close communication and coordination on regional and international issues.

The two countries have held frequent exchanges of high-level visits, and enhanced political mutual trust. President Xi Jinping met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Seventh BRICS Summit in Ufa in July 2015, the 16th SCO Summit in Tashkent in June 2016, the G20 Hangzhou Summit in September 2016, and the Eighth BRICS Summit in October 2016. In November 2015 Premier Li Keqiang met Indian Prime Minister Modi during the leaders' meetings for East Asia cooperation in Malaysia. Indian President Pranab Mukherjee visited China in May 2016, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited China in May 2015. Practical cooperation between the two countries has made solid progress in various areas. The two countries have maintained communication and coordination on international affairs and enhanced collaboration in the UN, BRICS, G20, China-India-Russia and other mechanisms. They have cooperated on climate change, the WTO Doha Round of negotiations, energy and food security, reform of international financial and monetary institutions, and global governance. Such cooperation has helped safeguard the common interests of China, India and other developing countries.

The relations between the Chinese and Indian militaries remain healthy and stable in general, with increasingly close communication and exchanges, and pragmatic cooperation in greater breadth and depth. Eight rounds of defense and security consultation and six joint military anti-terrorism training exercises have been held so far. Sound cooperation in personnel training, professional exchanges and other fields is being carried out. The two sides have also conducted border defense cooperation, which plays a positive role in maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas between China and India. Military leaders of the two sides visited each other in 2015 and 2016, and reached an important consensus on strengthening pragmatic cooperation between the two militaries and working together to maintain peace and stability in the border areas.

4. China-Japan Relations

Since 2015 China-Japan relations have maintained the momentum of improvement which started at the end of 2014. Upon invitation, President Xi Jinping met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the margins of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and the Asian-African Summit. He attended and gave an important speech at the China-Japan Friendship Exchange Meeting. Premier Li Keqiang met Prime Minister Abe during the China-Japan-ROK Trilateral Summit Meeting in 2015 and during the Asia-Europe Meeting in 2016. During the G20 Hangzhou Summit in September 2016 President Xi Jinping had another meeting with Prime Minister Abe. The two sides resumed contacts at government, parliament and party levels in an orderly way. Three rounds of high-level political dialogue were held and exchanges and cooperation in various areas were steadily pushed forward. However, complex and sensitive factors still remain in bilateral relations. In response to Japan's negative moves concerning historical and maritime territory issues, China urges Japan to abide by the four political documents and the four-point principled agreement on bilateral relations, properly manage and control disputes and conflicts, and avoid creating obstacles to the improvement of bilateral relations.

Since the end of 2014 defense exchanges between the two countries have gradually resumed and developed. In November 2015 the Chinese and Japanese defense ministers met during the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting. The defense chiefs of the two countries have met several times on other multilateral occasions. In 2016 the defense ministries of the two countries conducted working-level exchanges. Since 2015, defense ministries of the two countries have held two expert panel consultations on the establishment of air and maritime contact mechanisms, with consensus reached on most matters.

5. Relations with Others

China has continued developing friendly and cooperative relations with other countries in the Asia-Pacific region, with enhanced political mutual trust, strengthened economic and trade relations, closer people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and enlarged defense cooperation, so as to jointly promote peace, stability, development and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.