Shanghai summit to explore new Asia security outlook

BEIJING - The upcoming Shanghai summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) will discuss the new outlook on Asian security, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Wednesday.

"We expect the summit to promote a new outlook on Asian security, propose common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security measures, and explore the new structure of Asian security and cooperation," spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a daily press briefing.

With the summit scheduled to take place in Shanghai in May, Hua said it will be the largest ever in CICA's history.

Delegations from nearly 40 countries and international organizations will attend the summit, with 14 heads of state and heads of government and eight international organization chiefs confirming their presence, Hua said.

As chair for the CICA from 2014 to 2016, China will do its best to hold a productive summit under the theme of increasing dialogue, trust and collaboration to build a peaceful, stable and cooperative Asia, Hua quoted Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi as saying.

"Asia is a region with diversity and dynamism, full of opportunities and potential for development. Yet it is also a region filled with historical grievances and hot-button issues, and security cooperation lags behind," Wang told the press after his talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Beijing on Tuesday.

Wang lauded CICA as the largest multilateral security forum, covering different systems, religions, cultures and development stages.

"The call is that Asian countries should take the lead to resolve Asian affairs and achieve security by strengthening cooperation," Wang said.

China would like to work with other member countries to make the Shanghai summit a landmark, Hua said.

CICA was established in 1993 as a forum for dialogue and consultations and promotion of confidence-building measures among its members. It now has 20 member countries from East Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Middle East.