BOAO, Hainan, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping promised China's contribution to peace and development of Asia and the world at an international forum here Sunday.
China will vigorously promote development and prosperity in both Asia and the world, Xi said when delivering a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2013 held in Boao, a coastal town in south China's Hainan Province.
This is the first time Xi, who became Chinese president in March, has attended a multilateral diplomatic meeting in China.
"The more China grows itself, the more development opportunities it will create for the rest of Asia and the world," Xi said.
In the coming five years, the country's imports will reach about 10 trillion U.S. dollars and its outbound investment will reach 500 billion dollars, according to the president.
The number of its outbound tourists may exceed 400 million, he said.
President Xi also pledged that the country will continue to "properly handle differences and frictions" with relevant nations.
While upholding its sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, China will maintain good relations with its neighbors and overall peace and stability in the region, he said.
"Countries, whether big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, should all contribute their share in maintaining and enhancing peace," Xi said.
No one should be allowed to throw a region, even the whole world, into chaos for selfish gains, he said.
Although growing interactions inevitably lead to frictions, it is important that countries resolve differences through dialogue in the larger interest of the sound growth of their relations, he said.
China will increase connectivity with its neighbors, including building a regional financing platform and advancing economic integration within Asia, he said.
The president also pledged that China will promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, step up bilateral investment and explore new cooperation areas with other countries.
As a non-governmental and non-profit international organization founded in 2001, the BFA works to promote regional economic integration and bring Asian countries closer to their development goals.
The 2013 forum focuses on the theme of "Asia Seeking Development for All: Restructuring, Responsibility and Cooperation."
RELEASING DYNAMICS OF ASIA
In his speech, Xi called for Asian countries to better cooperate and explore development paths suited to their national conditions.
Asia needs 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," Xi said.
The global economy has entered a period of profound readjustment and its recovery remains elusive. The international financial sector is fraught with risks, and protectionism of various forms is on the rise, Xi warned.
While emerging as an important engine driving world economic recovery and growth, the continent needs to transform and upgrade its development model, adjust the economic structure, make development more cost effective and make life better for its people, he said.
Sustaining development is still of paramount importance to Asia, because only development holds the key to solving major problems and difficulties it faces, he said. "Achieving common development for all countries remains an uphill battle." 
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