The Global Times Annual Conference 2026 is held in Beijing on December 20, 2025. Photo: GT

Editor's Note: 

The Global Times Annual Conference 2026 took place in Beijing on Saturday, under the theme "Trust in China: New Journey, New Opportunities." This year's conference brought together more than 100 authoritative experts and scholars from political, academic and business circles, both domestically and internationally, to decode the logic of China's development and explain why "trust in China" is increasingly becoming an international consensus. This page highlights key points from the experts' speeches and discussions during the fourth panel of the conference, titled "Symbiotic states: A new exploration of how major powers relate to their neighbors."


China breaks with traditional Western thinking through a symbiotic perspective

Hu Jiping, president of the University of International Relations

Diplomacy with neighboring countries holds significant importance for China in improving its external environment and achieving national rejuvenation. The concept of "symbiotic states" aligns with the fundamental direction of human development. It calls for abandoning Cold War and zero-sum mentality.

Regarding China-Japan relations, since the normalization of diplomatic relations in 1972, the two countries enjoyed a period of healthy development that significantly boosted both economies. However, recent erroneous remarks on the Taiwan question made by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi have severely undermined this vital bilateral relationship, damaging the foundation laid by four political documents. 

The China-Japan Joint Statement signed in 1972, and the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship signed in 1978, represent the outcome of negotiations over the normalization of China-Japan relations and the resolution of postwar issues following World War II, which carry profound solemnity.

Based on the China-Japan Joint Statement, the Taiwan question is an internal matter of China. The Japanese government explicitly recognized this in the 1970s. However, the current shift in Japan's position signifies a substantial change in its stance toward the postwar settlement. To build stable and peaceful bilateral relations, it is imperative that Japan's position return to the correct path outlined in the Joint Statement.


Hu Shisheng, deputy secretary-general of Academic Committee, China Institute of Contemporary International Relations

In terms of China's South Asia diplomacy this year, we adhere to the overarching principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness. We pursue coordinated development and security through a dual-track approach, and strive to foster an amicable, secure and prosperous neighborhood to advance the building of a global community of a shared future. Political mutual trust between China and South Asian nations reached unprecedented heights over the past five years. 

Economic cooperation and development have yielded remarkable results. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has formally entered its second phase, upgrading to a five-corridor framework encompassing growth, innovation, green development, livelihood and regional connectivity. Furthermore, China held joint economic and trade committee meetings with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, resulting in multiple cooperation plans on trade connectivity and the industrial supply chain.

Much efforts have been made in ensuring regional stability, which primarily manifested in security cooperation. For instance, China actively engaged in diplomatic efforts to facilitate dialogue and promote peace in cross-border conflicts between India and Pakistan and between Afghanistan and Pakistan. China also leveraged the China-Pakistan-Afghanistan trilateral foreign ministers' meeting as a multilateral platform as a mediator and advance regional peace and stability.


Warwick Powell, an adjunct professor at the Queensland University of Technology and former advisor to former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd

China is a "great enabling power." It's a persona built on enabling neighbors and regional stability, creating conditions in which others can thrive alongside China. This is how China approaches its relations with its neighbors, a symbiotic perspective, rooted in connection, not separation. In much of Western thought, international relations are Hobbesian. Countries are imagined as autonomous, self-interested actors constantly weighing gains and losses in a zero-sum game. 

China takes a different approach. At its core is the idea that nations and the people within them are connected at the root. Security, prosperity and stability are seen as indivisible. Interests are not pre-given; they emerge through relationships. This is expressed in the guiding principles of Chinese diplomacy — amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness. These are not empty slogans. They shape a worldview where cooperation is strategic, long-term and relational.


China sees its neighboring region as a shared homeland

Zhao Xiaozhuo, former director of the Beijing Xiangshan Forum Secretariat 

The growing prominence of the Asia-Pacific region today is closely linked to China's role. China is committed not only to its own development but also to fostering the progress of its neighbors. Concepts put forward by China — such as building an amicable, secure and prosperous neighborhood, the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness, and the vision of a global community of a shared future — demonstrate that China truly regards the region as a common homeland.

In recent years, China has accumulated valuable diplomatic experience worthy of review and reflection. First, it advocates resolving international disputes through peaceful and diplomatic means — a principle it not only promotes but also puts into practice, as reflected in its Global Security Initiative. Second, China emphasizes development, driving not only its own rapid growth but also promoting shared progress in neighboring countries. The Belt and Road Initiative, for instance, has attracted broad participation across the region. Moreover, China has long rejected zero-sum thinking, consistently championing peace, cooperation, mutual benefit and inclusiveness — an approach increasingly recognized by neighboring countries in recent years.


Wu Shicun, chairman of Huayang Research Center for Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance 

The South China Sea is a critical region where stability can be promoted by focusing efforts on three key aspects. First, although certain countries have failed to comply with the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), the major cooperation areas under the framework of the DOC are very practical. These areas include marine environmental protection, marine scientific research, safety of navigation and communication at sea, search and rescue operation, and combating transnational crime.

Second, the negotiations of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) are currently underway. While reaching consensus on all issues with ASEAN countries is difficult, China, as the biggest coastal country in the South China Sea, should play an active role.

Third, efforts can also be made to discuss signing a South China Sea environmental protection convention. The depletion of fishery resources in the South China Sea may be more severe than in other waters. Therefore, regardless of progress in COC negotiations, a South China Sea environmental protection convention should be prioritized on the agenda, which also embodies the implementation of the Global Governance Initiative in the marine field.


Wu Dahui, deputy dean of the Russian Institute of Tsinghua University

In April 1996, China and Russia established a strategic partnership, and is now elevated to a comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for the new era. China's stance on the Russia-Ukraine issue has gained understanding and support from more countries worldwide. China and Brazil's six-point consensus on a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis has received support from many Global South countries. Additionally, China and other countries set up the "Friends of Peace" platform within the United Nations on the Ukraine crisis. Therefore, whether the Ukraine conflict ends or persists by 2026, will not, I believe, fundamentally impact China-Russia relations in the future. China and Russia are partners, however, they are not allies.


Regional prosperity cannot be achieved without China's constructive participation

Koh King Kee, president of Centre for New Inclusive Asia, Malaysia 

We are now living through a time of profound transformation. The forces of globalization are shifting and uncertainties, from economic fragility to climate change, continue to test the resilience of our global community. In such an era, the question before us is no longer how nations can coexist.

The real question is how we can co-prosper, co-develop and co-govern a world that is more interconnected than ever before. China's answer to this question is encapsulated in a vision of a global community of a shared future. It is rooted in China's millennia-old philosophical tradition, and shaped by the urgent realities of today's global governance. It emphasizes mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, win-win cooperation.

I believe that no nation can achieve lasting security or prosperity at the expense of another's. The concept is not merely an expression of China's goodwill. It is the guiding principle of China's policies toward its neighbors and the world.


Li Kaisheng, vice president of the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies

Development is pursued worldwide, but many countries stagnate after reaching a certain level. However, China's neighboring countries not only highly value development but are also adept at it, forming a solid foundation for China's relations with its neighbors. Because development inevitably leads to cooperation; even if conflicts arise during development, they are easily resolved as long as development is the primary focus. 

China's development has not yet peaked, and its recent technological advancements and innovations have impressed the world. With development as a foundation, there is hope for symbiotic relations between China and its neighbors, and with the world.