China's platform for 'Asian century'

The three months leading to the 4th Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia, or CICA, were marked by a spate of terrorist attacks in several Chinese cities. The conference, therefore, has assumed greater significance. Besides, it is the first major international event to be hosted by China under President Xi Jinping's leadership. As Xi takes over the chairmanship of CICA, the largest regional forum in Asia, he is expected to showcase China's vision for the "Asian century". The conference will also see Xi elucidating on his Chinese Dream and Silk Road frameworks in the larger context of regional security and development paradigm.

China's financial capital of Shanghai is hosting 11 heads of state, two heads of government and 10 chiefs of international organizations, including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, during the conference from May 20 to 21. Since Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Hasan Rouhani and Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who first proposed the idea of CICA at the 47th UN General Assembly in 1992, are paying state visits to China apart from attending the conference, this is a logistically challenging week for Chinese leaders, bureaucrats, diplomatic corps and security forces.

The recent terrorist attacks have prompted Chinese authorities to transform Beijing and Shanghai into the most "secure" cities in China, a fact unlikely to be lost upon the visiting leaders from countries that have also been suffering from the growing menace of terrorism. This is likely to make terrorism the underlying theme at the meetings on the sidelines of the conference, if not on its formal agenda, especially because CICA sees dialogue, development and transparency - as opposed to military might - as the means to ensuring security.

In his original proposal for CICA, Nazarbayev underlined the urgent need for setting up a "pan-Asian" forum to enable Asian countries to deal with their post-Cold War security challenges. CICA today includes 24 member states and 13 observer countries and organizations covering much of Asia's landmass and people, including those from central, southeast and south Asia, as well as the Middle East.

What makes CICA unique regional forum is the wide mixture of cultures, religions, nationalities and nations of varying sizes and development trajectories. Keeping with this reality, the theme of the 4th CICA is "On Enhancing Dialogue, Trust and Coordination for a New Asia of Peace, Stability and Cooperation", which is also in line with China's priorities.

CICA has traditionally pursued a policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of member states and focused on developing economic, social and cultural cooperation to maintain security.