Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi made remarks on China’s Asian policy when answered questions from journalists at a press conference of the Fourth Session of the Eleventh National People's Congress in the Great Hall of the People on the morning of 7 March 2011. The following is his remarks:

In 2010, peace, cooperation and development were on the whole maintained in the neighboring areas of China. New progress was made in China's relations with neighboring countries. The prominent features are as follows. Mutual trust was increasingly deepened. Chinese leaders visited a lot of Asian countries. They had broad and in-depth exchange of views with their foreign counterparts on how to further deepen mutual trust and bilateral cooperation, and much important agreement was reached. Asian countries worked together and did fairly well in overcoming the impact of the financial crisis on Asia. The Asian economy as a whole grew by 8.2% last year. It has become an important engine in driving world economic recovery. We boosted mutually beneficial cooperation, advanced regional integration and worked together in properly addressing regional hotspot issues. China will continue to follow the basic principle of building friendship and partnership with neighboring countries. We will work with neighboring countries to foster a peaceful, stable, inclusive and open regional environment pursuing win-win cooperation.

This year, we will continue to increase political mutual trust. This year marks the 60th, 50th and 20th anniversaries of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Pakistan, China and the Lao PDR, and China and Brunei respectively. This year is also the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the dialogue relationship between China and ASEAN. Moreover, this year is the year of friendly exchanges between China and ASEAN and between China and India. We will hold colorful activities and work with other Asian countries to deepen the friendship and mutual understanding between our peoples and pursue common development in Asia. We will also vigorously promote regional integration. The China-ASEAN Free Trade Area has been fully established, marking a good beginning. We will further deepen such cooperation. At the same time, efforts will also be made to advance the practical cooperation between ASEAN and China, Japan and the ROK.

China and ASEAN countries enjoy geographical proximity. The two sides have already engaged in very friendly cooperation. It is the common aspiration of the two sides to advance connectivity and network building. In this field, good progress has already been made. We will continue to work with the ASEAN countries to map out the future course of actions in advancing our connectivity. It is important that the two sides properly address regional hotspot issues and thorny issues through cooperation so as to maintain peace and stability in this region. This way, we will have even more favorable conditions for our development and prosperity.