This year marks the 25th anniversary of APEC. Today, APEC has evolved into one of the world's most premium regional dialogue and cooperation mechanisms, which has a significant and far-reaching relevance to the economic landscape of the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

As an important member of the Asia-Pacific family, China has always taken on the responsibility to promote Asia-Pacific prosperity and stability and has played a constructive role in regional affairs. China is committed to building a new peaceful and stable Asia-Pacific. China survives and thrives in the Asia-Pacific. It has a strong stake in regional peace and stability.

Acting in the interests of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific, China has proposed the building of a new model of major-country relations with the US that features not conflict or confrontation but mutual respect and win-win cooperation.

China advocates common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security for Asia, and hopes to foster an open and stable security cooperation architecture that suits the need of this region and is generally acceptable.

China pursues multilateralism, practices the international rule of law and works to facilitate peaceful resolution of hotspot issues. It is firmly committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the maintenance of peace and stability of the peninsula, and it supports the peace and reconstruction process in Afghanistan.

China stands ready to properly handle disputes over territory and maritime rights and interests that are left over from history through peaceful consultations on the basis of respecting historical facts and in accordance with international law and norms governing international relations.

China is committed to building a new cooperative and prosperous Asia-Pacific. China's development benefits from a prosperous and stable Asia-Pacific and China is ready to work with countries in the region so that its development will bring more benefits to others.

To this end, China is deepening mutually beneficial cooperation with other countries in the region to build a more closely-knit network of common interests. China pursues domestic development and opening-up at the same time, and aligns its own interests with the shared interests of Asia-Pacific members.

China is committed to building a new open and inclusive Asia-Pacific. The third plenum of the 18th CPC Central Committee called for efforts to build a new open economic system, expand converging interests with other countries and regions, and accelerate the implementation of the FTA strategy with neighboring countries as the basis.

We hope that the various regional and sub-regional cooperation mechanisms in the region will complement and reinforce each other. We support ASEAN centrality in regional cooperation and welcome a constructive role of non-regional countries in this region.

Since last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping has put forth a series of major cooperation initiatives on behalf of China, including the Silk Road economic belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, as well as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. The primary cooperation partners of these initiatives are Asia-Pacific countries, and they are also the ones that will benefit the most.

These initiatives are completely open and inclusive. They are meant to complement, not compete with APEC and other existing cooperation mechanisms. They will further improve the regional cooperation network in the Asia-Pacific and inject fresh impetus to enduring prosperity and development of the region.

China hosted the ninth APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in 2001. Now, 13 years later, APEC has come to China once again.

This is a mission entrusted by the countries and regions in the Asia-Pacific, which also shows their trust in China. All APEC members look to this year's event for consensus and real breakthroughs in regional integration.

They look to the Asia-Pacific region to maintain prosperity and development and drive world economic recovery and growth. And they look to China, the second largest economy in the world, to leverage its role as APEC host to make fresh contribution to APEC's development and Asia-Pacific's revitalization.

We look forward to having in-depth exchanges and positive interactions with other APEC members during the meeting, thus adding new impetus to the APEC process. There are three priority areas.

APEC members will launch the process of creating the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) and take a new step forward in achieving regional economic integration. The realization of the FTAAP is a long-standing consensus and vision of APEC economic leaders. It can help consolidate the various bilateral and multilateral cooperation mechanisms in the region, and minimize the risks caused by overlapping and fragmented free trade arrangements.

APEC members will identify five pillar areas of cooperation and unleash new impetus for Asia-Pacific economic development. Shifting growth models, restructuring the economy, fostering steady growth and promoting reform are the common tasks of APEC members.

APEC members will focus their efforts on promoting interconnected development and draw up a new blueprint for establishing comprehensive connectivity in the Asia-Pacific. Roads, railways, shipping lanes as well as rules and mechanisms are like the veins and tendons of a human body, while connectivity helps relax the tendons and improve the circulation.

Today, 25 years after its founding, APEC is standing at a new historic starting point where it can build on past achievements and make new progress into the future.

At this year's APEC meeting, we hope three goals will be achieved. First, to shape the future through Asia-Pacific partnership. Second, to build an open Asia-Pacific economy. And third, to chart the course for APEC development.

The article is an abstract of a speech by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Lanting Forum held on Wednesday in Beijing. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn