中共十八大提出，中国高举和平、发展、合作、共赢的旗帜。习近平主席指出，中国坚持与邻为善、以邻为伴，坚持睦邻、安邻、富邻，秉持亲诚惠容的周边外交理念，不断深化同周边国家的互利合作。中国愿与南亚人民和睦相处，与南亚各国合作共赢，为南亚发展添砖加瓦。为此，我提出4点建议：

The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China reaffirmed China’s commitment to peace, development and win-win cooperation. As stated by President Xi Jinping, China will promote friendship with its neighbors, foster an amicable, secure and prosperous neighborhood, implement the neighborhood policy of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness, and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation with all neighboring countries. China will live in peace and harmony with the people of South Asia and work with South Asian countries to contribute to the progress of the region. To this end, 1 would like to make four proposals.

第一，坚持亲邻善邻，增进政治互信。“远亲不如近邻”，地缘纽带把中国与南亚紧密连在一起。上世纪50年代，南亚国家给予新中国真诚支持，斯里兰卡顶住重重压力同尚未建交的中国签署了《大米和橡胶贸易协定》。中国、印度、缅甸本着高度政治互信，共同倡导了和平共处五项原则。近年来，中国与南亚国家友好关系不断发展，与地区绝大多数国家建立了伙伴关系，在阿富汗和平重建、联合反恐等地区事务中发挥了积极作用。“邻居越走越亲。”中国愿与南亚国家加强政治互信，密切友好交往，支持各国人民根据自己国情选择发展道路，在涉及各自核心利益问题上相互理解和支持，在国际和地区事务中加强协调配合，共同维护发展中国家利益。

First, we need to foster amity in the neighborhood and strengthen political mutual trust. As we in China often say, “A close neighbor is better than a distant relative.” China and South Asia are tied together by our geographical proximity. In the 1950s, South Asian countries rendered China sincere support. In defiance of all pressures, Sri Lanka, in the absence of diplomatic ties, signed the Rubber-Rice Pact with China. China, India and Myanmar, out of strong political mutual trust, jointly initiated the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. In recent years, steady progress has been made in China’s friendly relations with South Asian countries. China has established partnerships with most countries in the region and played a positive role in Afghan peace and reconstruction, joint counterterrorism and other regional affairs. “Neighbors become closer when they engage with each other more often.” China stands ready to strengthen political mutual trust and friendly exchanges with South Asian countries. Wewill support people of all countries in choosing development paths in keeping with their national conditions. We will promote mutual understanding and support on issues concerning each other’s core interests, enhance coordination in international and regional affairs and jointly uphold the interests of developing countries.

第二，坚持真诚携手，加快互联互通。中国人常说，“要致富，先修路。”近20年来，中国修了世界上最多的高速公路和高速铁路。“低发展修低速路，高发展修高速路。”这些年，中国与南亚国家开展了交通等基础设施合作，孟中友谊大桥横跨孟加拉国多条河流，科伦坡机场高速公路被誉为斯里兰卡“国门第一路”，这些都是中国与南亚国家真诚合作的见证。目前，基础设施总体薄弱是制约南亚地区经济社会发展的瓶颈。只有互联互通，才能共同繁荣。中国倡导“一带一路”建设，坚持共商、共建、共享，将优先推进包括南亚在内的沿线互联互通。中国出资400亿美元成立丝路基金，倡导成立亚洲基础设施投资银行，将为本地区互联互通提供重要助力。中国愿与南亚国家一道，抓住关键通道、关键节点和重点工程，加强规划、标准等对接，推进孟中印缅经济走廊、中巴经济走廊等骨干通道建设，带动大湄公河等区域合作；鼓励中国企业以BOT、PPP等国际通行方式，参与南亚国家公路、铁路、通信等大型基础设施项目，为南亚国家发展铺路搭桥。

Second, we need to work more closely together to strengthen connectivity. We believe that transportation infrastructure is fundamental for a region’s development. In the past two decades, China has been a leading country in terms of mileage of newly-built expressways and high-speed railways. In our experience, the quality of roads bears direct correlation to the speed of development. In recent years, China has worked with South Asian countries on transport and other infrastructure development. The Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridges stride over several rivers in Bangladesh, and the Colombo-Katunayake Expressway is now known as “the primary gateway” of Sri Lanka. They both bear witness to China’s sincere cooperation with South Asian countries. The largely weak infrastructure has been a bottleneck that constrains the economic and social development of South Asia. Strengthening connectivity among regional countries is the only effective way towards common prosperity. The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road initiatives China proposed will be implemented on the basis of wide consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits. Priority will be given to advancing connectivity along the routes in South Asia and other regions. By establishing a USD 40 billion Silk Road Fund and initiating the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, China hopes to generate strong impetus for connectivity in the region. It is ready to work with South Asian countries to further integrate planning and standards, especially for the key passageways, junctions and projects, advance the building of such trunk lines as Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and promote cooperation under the Greater Mekong Subregion and other regional frameworks. We will also encourage Chinese companies to participate in roads, railways, telecommunication and other large infrastructure projects in South Asia through BOT, PPP and other internationally recognized practices to serve the development of South Asian countries.