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BRIEF NEWS

only economic returns from their investment projects in foreign countries but also their reputations as law-abiding and responsible entities.

President Xi Vows Mutual 'Belt and Road' Benefit

Chinese President Xi Jinping has promised that China is looking to serve the long-term interests of all countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Xi made the remarks on April 29， 2016， at a group study attended by members of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China （CPC） Central Committee on the history of the Silk Road and Maritime Silk Road.

"The Belt and Road Initiative，though initiated by China， is not only about China，" he said. "I hope people in all countries along the Belt and Road will actually feel the benefit brought by the initiative."

The Belt and Road Initiative，which comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road， was brought up by Xi in 2013， with the aim of building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient Silk Road routes.

The initiative covers about 4.4 billion people in more than 60 countries， or 63 percent of the global population.

It aims to boost not only China's development but also that of other countries， Xi said. "While taking care of our own interests，we will give more consideration and care to the interests of other countries，" he said.

He also urged Chinese companies to value not

China， Cambodia Pledge Closer Friendship

China values its special friendship with the Cambodian royal family and bilateral relations，and supports Cambodia's development path， said President Xi Jinping during his talks with Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni in Beijing on June 3，2016.

Calling Cambodia a "good neighbor， like a brother" and "a good friend with sincerity，" Xi said the traditional friendship was treasured by the two peoples. He called on both sides to maintain close engagement，especially between the state leaders， and strengthen strategic communication.

The two sides should synergize their development strategies， and speed up negotiation on governmental documents related to Belt and Road Initiative projects， Xi said. He called on the two countries to strengthen cooperation in areas including agriculture， water conservation， infrastructure，information communication and law enforcement.

The two countries should also expand people-topeople exchanges， strengthen cooperation on tourism，education， culture and health care，and increase youth exchanges， Xi said.

The president noted that the two countries should continue to support each other and conduct closer coordination within multilateral mechanisms. China is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with Cambodia within multilateral frameworks such as the East Asia cooperation and Lancang-Mekong Cooperation， to jointly maintain the common interests of the two countries and other developing countries.

Sihamoni thanked China for the long-term support，saying Cambodia was ready to strengthen comprehensive cooperation with China.

Sihamoni was on a three-day state visit， from June 2 to 4， at the invitation of Xi.

Leaders of China，Philippines Share Responsibility to Maintain Friendship

The leaders of China and the Philippines share responsibility to maintain and deepen their good neighborly and friendly relations as well as the mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries， Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a message to congratulate Rodrigo Duterte on being elected Philippine president on May 30， 2016.

Xi said China and the Philippines enjoy a long history of friendly exchanges and deep traditional friendship between the two peoples.

"A friendly， stable and sound China-Philippines relationship is in the fundamental interests of the two countries and the two peoples，" Xi said， adding that he hoped the two sides would work together to get bilateral relations back on the track of sound development.

A joint session of the Philippine Congress proclaimed Duterte as the new Philippine president， over 20 days after the May 9 elections.

Duterte， 71， will take over from Benigno Aquino on June 30 as the country's 16th president.

Special ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers' Meeting Held in Yunnan

At the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi， foreign ministers or representatives from ten ASEAN nations attended the Special ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers' Meeting on June 14 in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

Wang Yi and Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan co-chaired the meeting. Singapore serves as the country coordinator for China-ASEAN relations.

All the participants agreed thatthe South China Sea issue should be handled properly， reaffirming the need to “jointly ensure peace and stability” in the area.

The 11 countries also called for“maritime practical cooperation”and for early completion of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.

Briefing reporters after the closed-door meeting， Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the region“should not become another place of turbulence” as the world has already witnessed considerable chaos.

Wang said the meeting， which was first proposed by members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations， was timely，significant and involved strategic communication.

He added that it had achieved its expected goals. China is committed to future meetings to build trust and dispel misunderstandings.

Senior Military Officer Elaborates on Regional Security Policy

Admiral Sun Jianguo，deputy chief of the Joint Staff Department of China's Central Military Commission， delivered a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on June 5，2016， elaborating on his country's policy， practice and proposals on regional security cooperation and governance.

In his speech titled "Strengthen Asia-Pacific Security Cooperation and Promote Regional Security Governance"， Admiral Sun called for concerted efforts by Asia-Pacific nations to maintain peace and stability in the region.

"The world today is undergoing historic changes as never before and the Asia-Pacific countries share good times and bad times together. Chinese President Xi Jinping has proposed that the Asia-Pacific countries should jointly build a security governance model that suits the characteristics of the region，" said the admiral.

He stressed that all countries should stick to the path of peaceful development and abandon the outdated zero-sum mentality.

"The jungle law goes against the trend of the times and belligerence does not make peace. The Asia-Pacific countries should refuse the Cold War mentality， deepen and expand security cooperation featuring no-conflict， no-confrontation， no targeting against a third party，mutual benefit and win-win，" Sun said.

On the South China Sea issue， the admiral said the overall situation in the South China Sea has remained stable and freedom of navigation has not been affected because of some disputes. He reiterated that China has always insisted on peaceful settlement of disputes through negotiations and consultations.

On the sidelines of the 3-day Shangri-La Dialogue， Admiral Sun also met with defense ministers，military chiefs and high-ranking defense officials from Singapore，Australia， New Zealand， Indonesia，Vietnam， Thailand， Russia， Brunei，etc.

Forum on Social Governance

The third China-Singapore Forum on Social Governance was held in Singapore on May 17， 2016.

Meng Jianzhu， member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China（CPC） Central Committee and

Source：

Xinhua News Agency，China News Service，China Daily，

China Central Television head of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee，and Teo Chee Hean， Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security of Singapore， co-chaired the forum.

Meng said that diversity is the driving force behind the progress of civilizations and a major hallmark of social progress. Rich diversity brings both opportunities and challenges.

In such a context， how to maximize the benefits while minimizing the damage and improve social governance under diversified conditions is a challenge facing all countries in the world， he said， adding though China and Singapore have different national conditions， the two countries have many commonalities in social governance and broad prospects for exchanges and cooperation in this area.

In his speech， Teo introduced four dimensions of diversity in Singapore and elaborated on how these are managed in the Singapore context.

Teo also expressed the

willingness to enhance China-Singapore cooperation in social governance.

ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting

Military cooperation in humanitarian and disaster relief， medicine center and cyber security were among the initiatives adopted in Vientiane， Laos， on May 25， 2016 by defense ministers and delegations from Southeast Asia.

Ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations （ASEAN） signed a joint declaration which was read to news media by the meeting chair， Lao Minister of Defense Lieutenant-General Chansamone Chanyalath.

The 10th ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting （ADMM） saw the adoption of a concept paper on the establishment of the ADMM-Plus Experts Working Group on Cyber Security.

Terms of reference on ASEAN Militaries Ready Group（AMRG） on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief（HADR） and ASEAN Center of Military Medicine were also adopted respectively.

The ADMM was followed by the ASEAN-China Defense Ministers' informal meeting with a delegation led by Chinese Defense Minister General Chang Wanquan.

The ADMM is one of the meetings hosted by Laos as the ASEAN chairman this year.

PLA Navy Takes Part in Joint Drill

The Chinese Navy joined ASEAN countries in a maritime drill on May 2-12， 2016. The 11-day joint drill aimed at boosting regional security at sea and combating terrorism.

The missile destroyer Lanzhou from the PLA's South Sea Fleet， carrying a Z9C helicopter and a special operations unit， took part in the joint drill under the 10+8 defense ministers' meeting （the 10+8 mechanism refers to the 10-member ASEAN and eight of its partners - China， Russia，the United States， Japan， the Republic of Korea， Australia，New Zealand and India）. This has been the first marine security and anti-terror joint drill staged under the mechanism.

Senior Captain Lai Minghe，one of the mission commanders，said the drill will increase member countries' sharing of maritime information and complete the process of maritime security cooperation.