Chinese Premier Li Keqiang today said it saw no contradiction in safeguarding territorial rights and its desire for regional peace and stability even as the communist nation remains embroiled in maritime and territorial disputes with a host of neighbours including India.
"China will remain committed for the path of peaceful development and will not waver in its resolve in upholding sovereignty and territorial integrity. These two are not in conflict," Li said here at his annual press briefing.
"We hope that all the countries from within the region and outside will work together to uphold the regional stability not the opposite way," said mild-mannered Li, 60, replying to a question about China's volatile neighbourhood where Beijing is involved in a host of disputes.
Besides the escalating South China Sea (SCS) dispute where China is locked in confrontation with the US, Beijing also has tense ties with Japan as it proactively asserted its rights over Diaoyu/Senkaku islands.
China claims almost the whole of the South China Sea - a major shipping lane rich in natural resources, resulting in overlapping claims with several other Asian nations like Vietnam and the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.
They accuse China of illegally reclaiming land in contested areas to create artificial islands with facilities that could potentially be for military use.
Over half of the world's commercial shipping passes through the Indo-Pacific waterways - including one-third of the world's liquefied natural gas.
India did not figure in Li's over two hour-long press meet in which he answered questions about China's tenuous ties with US, Japan and growing relations with Russia though Sino- Indian border dispute continues to cast a shadow over the bilateral ties with recurring reports of incursions by Chinese troops into the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control.
India and China have established a host of mechanisms and confidence building measures to maintain peace along the 3,488 km-long disputed border.
Li in his customary briefing at the end of the fortnight- long annual parliament session focussed more on China-US ties which were bogged down over SCS tensions.
He said despite the tensions, China-US relations will move forward as common interests outweigh differences, no matter who gets elected as the next American President.
"There are broad common interests between China and US. There are also some differences between the two countries. Some differences could be sharp. There is no need to deny this," Li said.
Both the Republican Party leading candidate Donal Trump and Hillary Clinton of Democratic party have targeted China in their campaign, vowing to follow a firm policy to contain Beijing.
Li called the US elections "lively" which have caught the attention of many but said he believes "no matter who gets into the White House the underlying trend will not change. It has been several decades since the two counties established diplomatic ties".
"Hasn't the relationship seen more than fair share of ups and downs? It has always been moving forward which I believe is the underlying trend," said Li, who is second to President Xi Jinping in the Chinese leadership hierarchy.
"For some time, many people have been talking about differences between the two countries. But at the same time overlooked one very important thing of China last year becoming the top trading partner of the US with two-way trade between the two countries reaching USD 560 billion.
"This in itself shows common interest far outweigh their differences," Li said responding to a question on US-China relations which are undergoing a tense phase over Washington's Asia Pivot policy and growing differences over China's moves to assert its claims on the SCS.
"As per difference between the two countries there are up to 100 various dialogue and exchange mechanism between China and US" to address the issues, he said.
Focussing on his comments on the growing China-US business ties, Li said both countries need to act keeping principle of equality and mutual benefit in mind.
"Also long the two countries act with good faith and properly manage dither differences, I believe their common interest will expand. As our cooperation expands the percentage of over all differences in China US relations will come down and broader cooperation serves the interests of both the countries and the world," he said.
