Working together toward a better future for Asia and the world

Editor's note: President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech at the opening plenary of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2013 on Sunday in South China's Hainan province.

Following is the translated version of the full text of his speech from Xinhua News Agency.

Your Excellencies, Heads of State and Government, Speakers of Parliament, Heads of International Organizations, Ministers, Members of the Board of Directors of the Boao Forum for Asia, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends,

In this balmy season with clear sky and warm, coconut-scented breeze, I am so glad to meet all of you at the Annual Conference 2013 of the Boao Forum for Asia here in Hainan, a picturesque island embraced by the vast ocean.

Let me begin by extending, on behalf of the Chinese government and people and also in my own name, a heartfelt welcome to you and warm congratulations on the opening of the Annual Conference of the Boao Forum.

In the past 12 years since its birth, the Boao Forum for Asia has become an important forum with growing global influence. In the Chinese culture, 12 years form a zodiac cycle. In this sense, the Boao Forum has reached a new starting point and I hope it will scale an even greater height.

The theme of the current annual conference, namely, "Asia Seeking Development for All: Restructuring, Responsibility and Cooperation", is a highly relevant one. I hope you will engage in an in-depth discussion on promoting development in Asia and beyond and thus contributing, with your vision and commitment, to peace, stability and prosperity in Asia and the world at large.

The world today is experiencing profound and complex changes. Countries have become increasingly inter-connected and inter-dependent. Several billion people in a large number of developing countries are embracing modernization. The trend of the times, namely, peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit, is gaining momentum.

On the other hand, our world is far from peaceful. Development remains a major challenge; the global economy has entered a period of profound readjustment, and its recovery remains elusive. The international financial sector is fraught with risks, protectionism of various forms is on the rise, countries still face many difficulties in adjusting economic structure, and the global governance mechanisms call for improvement. Achieving common development for all countries remains an uphill battle.

Asia is one of the most dynamic and most promising regions in the world, and its development is closely connected with the development of other continents. The Asian countries have energetically explored development paths suited to their national conditions and greatly boosted global development through their own development. Working side by side with the rest of the world in time of difficulty to tackle the international financial crisis, Asia has emerged as an important engine driving world economic recovery and growth. In recent years, Asia has contributed to over 50 percent of global growth, instilling much needed confidence in the world. What is more, Asia's cooperation with other regions of the world at regional and sub-regional levels has great vitality and promising prospects.

But we should also be keenly aware that Asia still faces many difficulties and challenges in boosting both its own development and joint development with other regions. The road ahead remains a bumpy and twisting one.

Asia needs to transform and upgrade its development model in keeping with the trend of the times. Sustaining development is still of paramount importance to Asia, because only development holds the key to solving major problems and difficulties it faces. It is important that we should shift the growth model, adjust the economic structure, make development more cost effective and make life better for our people.

We need to make concerted efforts to resolve major difficulties to ensure stability in Asia. Stability in Asia now faces new challenges, as hotspot issues keep emerging, and both traditional and non-traditional security threats exist. The Asian countries need to increase mutual trust and work together to ensure durable peace and stability in our region.

We need to build on past success and make new progress in promoting cooperation in Asia. There are many mechanisms and initiatives for enhancing cooperation in Asia, and a lot of ideas on boosting such cooperation are being explored by various parties. What we need to do is to enhance mutual understanding, build consensus, and enrich and deepen cooperation so as to strike a balance among the interests of various parties and build mechanisms that bring benefits to all.