China building necessary overseas infrastructure reasonable: FM

China is trying to build necessary infrastructure and logistical capacities in regions with a concentration of China's interests, which is reasonable, logical and consistent with international practices, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Tuesday.

Wang made the remarks at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People's Congress, China's national legislature. Wang was responding to a question on China's expanding overseas interests and in particular logistical facilities in Djibouti. China's interests are expanding overseas, 30,000 businesses are operating in the world, and millions of Chinese are working everywhere around the globe.

Last year, China's non-financial outbound investment reached 118 billion U.S. dollars, and China's overseas assets had massed to billions of dollars. "It is a pressing task for China's diplomacy to better protect its growing overseas interests," Wang said, adding China will not take the old path of expansionism and will not be engaged in any form of power politics. "Rather we want to pioneer the Chinese way of protecting overseas interests, one that is in tune with the trend of the times and welcomed by other parties," Wang said.

First, China is willing to shoulder more international security responsibilities, he said. Since 2008, Chinese navy has sent escort missions -- 22 fleets so far -- off the Somali coast, to escort over 6,000 Chinese and foreign ships passing through these waters. China is the biggest contributor of peacekeeping personnel among the five permanent members in the UN Security Council and the second largest contributor to the UN peacekeeping budget.

"Secondly, we are willing to respond to actual needs and the wishes of the countries in question, in regions with a concentration of Chinese interests, we are trying to build some necessary infrastructure and logistical capacities. I think that is not just reasonable and logical, but also consistent with international practice," he said.

"Thirdly, we want to deepen cooperation with other countries, including law enforcement and security cooperation. At the same time we will play a constructive role in the political settlement of international and regional issues so as to create a more secure and stable environment for China's development overseas," Wang said.