The Ministry of Foreign Affairs introduces Premier Li Qiang's attendance at a series of East Asian Cooperation Leaders' Meetings
On September 11th, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning presided over a regular press conference.
A reporter asked, recently, Premier Li Qiang attended a series of East Asian Cooperation Leaders' Meetings in Jakarta. Can the spokesperson introduce the relevant situation?
Maoning data chart.
Mao Ning introduced that from September 6th to 7th, Premier Li Qiang attended the 26th China ASEAN Leaders Meeting, the 26th ASEAN China Japan South Korea Leaders Meeting, and the 18th East Asia Summit in Jakarta. This is the first time that a new Chinese Prime Minister has attended a series of East Asian Cooperation Leaders' Meetings, achieving fruitful results.
One is to deepen political consensus. Faced with the increasing uncertainty in the international and regional situation, Premier Li reviewed the development process of East Asia in the past few decades, emphasized the difficulty of development, the necessity of openness, and the value of peace. Focusing on the overall interests of East Asia's peaceful development, he called for strengthening unity, deepening potential, eliminating interference, maintaining an open and inclusive regional environment, releasing more development momentum, and jointly building an economic growth center. Premier Li's speech resonated strongly with regional leaders. All parties generally emphasize that stability and peace are the key to achieving prosperity. We need to strengthen mutual trust and dialogue, consolidate the central position of ASEAN, promote regional economic integration, and firmly realize the vision of being the center of growth.
The second is to create highlights of cooperation. A total of 8 outcome documents were passed in the three meetings, and China proposed 39 specific cooperation initiatives. On the basis of deepening traditional cooperation in economy, trade, connectivity, finance, and food security, the ASEAN China Japan South Korea Leaders Meeting also passed a statement on electric vehicle cooperation for the first time. Regional countries have reached more consensus in seizing the opportunities brought by the new round of technological and industrial revolution, creating new growth points for cooperation, and enhancing the overall competitiveness of East Asia in emerging fields. The China ASEAN Summit also declared 2024 as the "China ASEAN Year of Cultural Exchange" and unanimously agreed to resume and expand personnel exchanges as soon as possible, and strengthen cultural exchanges in various fields.
The third is to maintain the correct direction. This year, the Indonesian presidency initiated the East Asian Summit to issue a statement on the theme of economic growth. China has always actively supported and participated in constructive consultations, making positive contributions to the final adoption of the statement. This year's summit successfully issued a leadership statement, which issued a unanimous voice from all parties to focus on development and effectively enhanced the momentum of the summit's development. Some countries attempt to hype up geopolitical issues, but they are unpopular and few have responded. Some countries have repeatedly smeared and attacked China with the same old tune, which has been firmly and strongly refuted by China. China's position and stance have been widely praised by ASEAN countries. Overall, the series of meetings maintained a positive atmosphere, consolidated the platform role of the East Asian cooperation mechanism, and effectively promoted regional peace, stability, and prosperity.
