Speedy development, close cooperation urged ( 2003-10-07 14:12) (Xinhua)
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called countries to use a favorable environment to
speed up their own development and step up regional cooperation.
Premier Wen Jiabao
(L) is welcomed by Indonesian officials in Nusa Dua, on the Indonesian
resort island of Bali on Monday, Oct 6, 2003. Wen was there to attend a
regional summit with ASEAN countries.
[newsphoto.com.cn]
While addressing the first
ASEAN Business and Investment Summit on Tuesday, the Chinese leader
stressed "development is the enduring pursuit of mankind. It is the only way
leading to Asia's rejuvenation. Under the present world circumstances, Asia is
faced with both rare opportunities and serious challenges in its development."
However, Wen Jiabao said, there are an increasing number of factors affecting
peace and development, which include the rising threat of terrorism, the new
manifestations of power politics, the uneven development among countries and the
widening gap between the North and the South.
"It remains a long and uphill journey to maintain world peace and promote
common development," Wen underlined.
As a rapidly rising continent, the Chinese premier said, Asia is attracting
more and more attention worldwide. Asia's share in the world economy has risen
from 5 percent at the end of World War II to 23 percent today. Asia's economic
achievements are attributable not only to the fact that Asian countries have
seized the opportunities and boosted growth, but also to the burgeoning regional
and sub-regional cooperation of all kinds.
In a bid to find a good mechanism for lasting development and common
prosperity in Asia under the competition pressure created by the unfair and
irrational international economic order, the Chinese leader called upon the
Asian nations "to strengthen our solidarity and cooperation."
Turning to the current economic situation at home, Wen Jiabao noted, since
the beginning of this year, "we have overcome the severe impact of the SARS
epidemic and maintained fast and sound economic growth."
China's GDP has increased by 8.2 percent in the first half of this year. From
January to August this year, its fixed asset investment grew by 32.4 percent,
its total import and export volume reached 522.7 billion US dollars,
representing a 36.3 percent increase, and 36.7 billion US dollars of foreign
direct investment was utilized, marking an 18.4 percent growth over the same
period of the previous year, he added.
Judging by the current trends, the Chinese premier said, "we are confident
that this year's objective of achieving a 7 percent economic growth rate will be
met."
According to Wen, by the year 2020, China's GDP, calculated on the current
foreign exchange rate, will be over 4 trillion US dollars, which will enable
China to reach the level of a moderately developed country by the middle of this
century.
"A more developed and stronger China will bring about development
opportunities and tangible benefits to other Asian countries, and will make even
greater contribution to peace and development in Asia," Wen Jiabao asserted.
This is because firstly, he explained in his speech, it is a firm policy of
China to vigorously promote Asia's development, rejuvenation, peace and
stability.
Secondly, China's development will bring tremendous immediate and long-term
benefits to Asian countries. And thirdly, China's growth adds to the peaceful
forces and could contribute more to regional stability.
Wen Jiabao said that China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) officially launched the negotiation on establishing a China-ASEAN Free
Trade Area in 2002, and positive headway has been made in the talks in the past
year. He expressed his confidence that the Free Trade Area will be established
according to schedule and in 2010, a Free Trade Area of nearly two billion
people with a total GDP of almost 3 trillion US dollars will take shape in Asia.
"Pursuit of peace, cooperation and prosperity is the goal of China's Asia
policy. There are broad prospects and great potential for economic and trade
cooperation between China and ASEAN," Wen said.
