China will continue to follow the path of peaceful development in 2019, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in front of diplomats and distinguished guests from 400 countries on Thursday. 

In 2018, China stood up to safeguard its lawful rights and interests, acted on the new development philosophy, and achieved a medium-high GDP growth rate of 6.6 percent, Wang said. 

In 2019, China will continue to advance cooperation for win-win results, he said, adding peaceful development represents the overarching direction of China's foreign policy. 

"We shall never seek hegemony or expansion. In the year ahead, we will continue to promote a community with a shared future for mankind, uphold equality between countries of all sizes, adhere to non-interference in others' internal affairs, and work toward a new form of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness, justice and win-win cooperation. Likewise, we hope other countries will pursue peaceful development as well, as that is the only way to achieve universal and genuine peace on this planet we share," Wang said. 

In his speech, Wang also said China will continue to safeguard the international order underpinned by multilateralism, to build partnerships, and to play a mediating role in regional hotspots. 

Promoting China's development is an inherent goal of China's diplomacy, Wang said. 

He stressed that defending China's legitimate rights and interests is a sacred mission of China's diplomacy in 2019. 

(CGTN's Liu Yang also contributed to the story.)