Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for efforts to strengthen mutual trust and military cooperation and to defend international security, amid rising challenges of hegemonism, power politics and unilateralism.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century. While peaceful development and win-win cooperation are irreversible trends, with the rising challenges, Xi said there's a long way to realizing common security and development.

Xi made the remarks in a congratulatory message to the Xiangshan Forum, the annual security forum starting from Monday in Beijing. 

Over the past 70 years, China has achieved tremendous growth and it has become a defender of world peace, and China, as a responsible country, will continue to adhere to the path of peaceful development and to pursue a defensive national defense policy, Xi said.

China will continue to be a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, and an upholder of the international order, he added.