Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said Tuesday China expects relevant neighboring countries to peacefully handle and resolve differences and disagreements with China through dialogue and consultation.

Yang made the remarks at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature. [More about the press conference]

In response to a question on China's disputes with neighboring countries, Yang said China hopes relevant countries to respect China's legitimate rights and interests in the Asia Pacific region and avoid making remarks or taking moves that may complicate the situation.

The foreign minister called for relevant countries to work with the Chinese side for stability, development and progress in the Asian region.

"We believe that progress has already been made in handling these differences between relevant Asian countries. And the two sides have reached important consensus on seeking peaceful settlement and pushing forward mutual cooperation," Yang said.

On the South China Sea issue, Yang said China always believes the disputes in the South China Sea should be properly resolved through negotiations between direct relevant parties on the basis of facts and in accordance with the basic norms governing international relations.

Pending final settlement of disputes, the parties concerned may put aside disputes and engage in joint development, he said.

Yang noted that China and relevant countries have reached important agreements on peacefully resolving disputes and pushing forward practical cooperation in the South China Sea.

"At the same time, much remains to be done in this regard," he said.

According to the foreign minister, China and the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries have reached agreements on the guidelines of the implementation of the Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.

China and relevant countries have the ability and wisdom to properly handle the South China Sea issue and work together for peace and stability in the South China Sea, Yang said.

Yang stressed one should view China's relationship with its neighboring countries in "a broader context" of the general trend of development and he believes now the general trend is a "positive" one.

He noted China pursues a policy of building good-neighborly relationship and partnership with countries and is committed to deepening the mutual beneficiary cooperation with other Asian countries.

"And now the relations between China and other Asian countries are in good shape and we have a lot of positive factors," Yang said, referring to frequent high-level visits, more closely interwound interests and mutual coordination, and dynamic cultural, people-to-people exchanges between China and Asian countries.

China and other Asian countries have helped each other and worked closely together in handling major regional and international issues, pushing forward regional cooperation and tackling the international financial crisis and major natural disasters.

Yang said that during his recent visits to some Asian countries, he felt that they wanted to see the sustained positive momentum of the Chinese economy and hope that China will continue its development that bring abundant results and benefits to people of the two sides in terms of business cooperation, and mutual benefits and cooperation in other fields.

Currently, China has become the largest trading partner for the majority of its neighbors, as trade between China and other Asian countries topped 1 trillion U.S. dollars last year.

Meanwhile, China's investment in the Asian region approached 20 billion U.S. dollars last year, with unprecedented cooperation between China and other Asian countries in fields of science and technology, finance, energy, and infrastructure.

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