Asian countries should be cautious and resist any attempts to provoke confrontation in the region, China's foreign minister told his Cambodian counterpart in the countdown to a Southeast Asian leaders summit in Washington this week.
Speaking with Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn via video link on Sunday, Wang Yi also urged the region to seize the "Asian moment" and take the initiative in global governance as it prepares to host several high-profile multilateral meetings.
The meetings include the BRICS summit in China, the East Asia Summit meetings in Cambodia and the G20 summit in Indonesia. Thailand is also hosting this year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings.
Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.
"Faced with the choice between unity or division, cooperation or confrontation ... global governance has entered the 'Asian moment' and the international community is looking to Asia to play a leading role in this regard," Wang said, according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement.
"China believes that the world should listen more to Asian voices, respect Asian positions and draw on Asian wisdom at this time," Wang said, adding that China would support Cambodia in playing "an unique and constructive" role in this as it chairs Asean this year.
In addition, China would closely work with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to deepen cooperation, particularly in digital connectivity, the green economy, public health and supply chain resilience, Wang said.
He added that China supported Cambodia's rotating chairmanship of Asean this year, and was ready to update the action plan on the comprehensive strategic partnership with Asean "as soon as possible".
Wang's remarks come as US President Joe Biden prepares to host a summit for Asean leaders at the White House Thursday and Friday.
The meeting is the latest effort by the US to demonstrate its commitment to the region after years of benign neglect.
Without naming the United States, Wang said Asian countries "should jointly guard against and resist" any efforts to "bring a cold war mentality into this region and incite confrontations between camps".
"China is happy to see extraterritorial countries play a positive and constructive role for the peaceful development of the region, but does not accept any actions that undermine peace and stability in the region and undermine regional solidarity and cooperation," he said.