Speech by Li Qiang at the 26th ASEAN and China, Japan, and South Korea Leaders Meeting (full text)

Speech at the 26th ASEAN and China, Japan, and South Korea Leaders Meeting

Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, Li Qiang

Dear President Zoko,

 Dear Colleagues,

I am delighted to attend the ASEAN, China, Japan, and South Korea Leaders' Meeting with all my old and new friends. Thank you to President Joko and the Indonesian government for their careful arrangements for this meeting.

Over the past 20 years, the 10+3 cooperation mechanism has started from the response to the Asian financial crisis, and has gone through the tests of the international financial crisis, the COVID-19, and played an important role in promoting regional development and prosperity. We Chinese people say "one fence, three stakes, one hero, three gangs". The more difficulties we encounter, the more we need to unite and work together to keep warm. Looking at various multilateral cooperation mechanisms internationally, they are essentially establishing and expanding their respective "circle of friends". In the circle of friends, there are both neighbors who cannot move away and friends who are far away. This brings up a question: In the process of building these mechanisms, what kind of ways should we get along when making friends, choosing partners, and being neighbors?One important aspect of our interactions and interactions is to demand common ground while reserving differences and seeking assimilation.

To seek common ground, one must first identify with it. For 10+3 countries and even the whole of Asia, our commonalities are too many and too great: firstly, we have a common home, where countries are connected by mountains and rivers, dependent on each other, culturally connected, and have similar customs. These fundamental commonalities have made our friendly exchanges a long-standing tradition. If this home is peaceful and prosperous, we will benefit together; If there is turbulence and turmoil, we will all suffer together. Secondly, we share common interests, and countries have jointly created the "Asian miracle" of economic growth. In the past decade, the share of the economies of 10+3 countries in the world has increased from 24.7% to 27.6%. Countries are important economic and trade partners with each other, and their industrial and supply chains are deeply integrated. As long as we continue to deepen our openness and cooperation, we will definitely be able to build a center for global economic growth. Thirdly, we have common opportunities, and countries can provide each other with opportunities to inject strong momentum into global development. This year, China's economy is expected to achieve the annual growth target of about 5%. More importantly, we are comprehensively promoting high-quality development and Chinese path to modernization. China's economic development prospects are promising and will continue to provide new and greater opportunities for the region and countries around the world.

By solidifying the foundation of "identification" and "seeking common ground", "reserving differences" is not scary, and "transforming differences" has rules to follow. Differences and disputes between countries are sometimes due to cognitive biases, sometimes due to conflicting interests, and sometimes due to external interference. The key is to face the problem squarely, eliminate misunderstandings, and manage differences. Facing problems head-on is the key to solving them, while ostrich policies can only exacerbate problems; The most effective way to eliminate misunderstandings is to strengthen communication and enhance understanding and trust through sincere communication; To manage differences, it is currently very important to oppose taking sides, group confrontation, and the "new Cold War", and to properly handle differences and disputes between countries.

Now when we sit together in meetings and discussions, we are actually striving for assimilation and differentiation. We must base ourselves on the overall interests of peace and development in East Asia, manage the similarities and differences between countries, continuously consolidate the foundation of cooperation in the 10+3 mechanism, jointly address various risks and challenges, work together to promote regional development, prosperity and stability, and strive to build an Asian community with a shared future.

 Dear Colleagues,

Currently, the world is entering a new period of turbulence and change, with challenges such as slowing economic growth, climate change, and geopolitical interference becoming more prominent. Differences and disputes between countries are intentionally or unintentionally amplified, and the global development cause is facing enormous challenges. In this situation, we must persist in seeking common ground while reserving differences and assimilating differences, always prioritize development in regional cooperation, eliminate various interferences, deeply tap into the potential of cooperation, and strive to find a more stable, dynamic, and inclusive development path. This year marks the beginning of the implementation of the new 10+3 Cooperation Work Plan. China is willing to take this as an opportunity to work with all parties to jointly build an economic growth center and focus on the following three things:

The first thing is to continue promoting regional economic integration. In recent years, the total trade volume of 10+3 countries has repeatedly reached new highs, of which nearly half is intra regional trade, and their economic and trade ties are becoming increasingly close. In June of this year, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement came into full effect, ushering in new development opportunities for regional economic integration. We must continue to unleash the benefits of the agreement, make greater efforts to promote the free flow of factors, promote the expansion and upgrading of trade and investment, continuously promote comprehensive, mutually beneficial, and high-level economic partnerships, and gradually form a more open and prosperous regional integration market. Hong Kong, China is widely recognized as one of the most open economies in the world and an important trade and investment partner of RCEP members. We hope that all parties will support Hong Kong as one of the first new members to join the agreement.

The second thing is to continuously deepen regional industrial division of labor and cooperation. For over half a century, the East Asian industrial and supply chains have been continuously integrated and extended. In this process, the market principle is the "baton", and the comparative advantage is the "positioning instrument". Countries fully enjoy the development dividends brought by division of labor and cooperation. Engaging in decoupling and chain breaking goes against economic laws and historical trends, and hyping up so-called "risk reduction" essentially politicizes and securitizes economic and trade cooperation, ultimately resulting in harm to others and oneself. 10+3 countries should uphold the spirit of open cooperation and mutual benefit, continue to leverage their advantages in geographical proximity and economic complementarity, promote the optimization and upgrading of regional industrial and supply chains in a stable and smooth manner, and jointly enhance the competitiveness of the East Asian economy. The Chinese side proposes to hold a 10+3 industrial chain supply chain docking conference and a digital empowerment 10+3 supply chain seminar next year, in order to build a more stable, smooth, and comparative advantage based regional industrial chain supply chain system.

The third thing is to continuously strengthen the leadership and drive of technological innovation. In today's rapidly developing technology, striving for innovation is striving for development, and striving for innovation is striving for the future. China is strengthening the integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, accelerating the construction of a modern industrial system, and providing new opportunities for regional countries to cooperate in new fields and tracks. China is willing to deepen innovation cooperation in fields such as digital economy, clean energy, and new energy vehicles with all parties, jointly promote the development of emerging industries, and jointly cultivate more new economic growth points. China supports the joint statement of ASEAN, China, Japan, and South Korea leaders on the development of electric vehicle ecosystems at this meeting, and is willing to strengthen practical cooperation with all parties to further enhance the overall competitive advantage of electric vehicles in the region. The disposal of nuclear contaminated water is related to the global marine ecological environment and public health. Japan should faithfully fulfill its international obligations, fully consult with neighboring countries and other stakeholders, and dispose of nuclear contaminated water in a responsible manner.

ASEAN and China, Japan, and South Korea are part of the East Asian family. China is willing to work together with other countries to create a better future for East Asia!

Thank you all!