Remarks by Chinese Premier at The 27th ASEAN Plus Three Summit

Vientiane, October 10, 2024

Your Excellency Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone,
Colleagues,

It gives me great pleasure to attend today’s Summit. I wish to thank Prime Minister Sonexay and our host Lao PDR for the thoughtful arrangements made for this Summit.

Over the past year, new progress has been made in ASEAN Plus Three (APT) cooperation on all fronts. Trade and investment remain vibrant, and new drivers of economy keep expanding. At the same time, it must be noted that our development is still confronted with factors of instability and uncertainty. In particular, external forces have frequently made interference and caused disruptions, and even attempted to bring bloc confrontation and geopolitical conflicts into Asia. How should we view and address the situation? How can we better grasp the future of Asia, and keep moving forward in the right direction? It all depends on whether we can constantly strengthen the Asian Consciousness and better apply the Oriental Wisdom.

We need to strengthen the Asian Consciousness. Asian countries share a common home, common interests and opportunities, and above all, common values. We all place high importance on independence. Asian affairs should be handled by Asian people through consultation, and the future of Asia must be firmly kept in our own hands. We all take development as a priority. Most countries in Asia are developing countries. Growing the economy and improving people’s livelihoods is our primary task. We all recognize that peace is the most precious. Asia had suffered from the scourge of colonization and invasion in modern times, but over the past decades, our region has maintained rapid development. That is because Asian countries have drawn lessons from the past and endeavored to uphold peace and stability in the region. These commonalities together form the Asian Consciousness, which provides a sound logical basis and common intellectual foundation for us to jointly shape Asia’s future.

We need to better apply the Oriental Wisdom. Asia is home to a galaxy of ancient civilizations. Through centuries of practice, we have developed distinctive insights for navigating world affairs. Having learned that one hand cannot clap while many hands make light work, we are more steadfast in choosing unity and cooperation in the face of growing risks and challenges; having learned that the ocean is vast because it admits all rivers, we are able to see clearly that protectionism and unilateralism lead nowhere while openness and inclusiveness are the right path; having learned that amity and good-neighborliness are invaluable to a country, we are more proactive in promoting understanding and harmony through dialogue and goodwill to address differences, disagreements and conflicts between countries. Such profound Oriental Wisdom nourishes us and empowers us to tackle challenges and pursue development together.

Looking ahead, China stands ready to work with ASEAN, Japan, the ROK and all Asian countries in enhancing Asian Consciousness, promoting Oriental Wisdom and advancing steadily toward a peaceful, tranquil, open and connected Asia of shared prosperity.

Colleagues,

APT is one of the most mature cooperation mechanisms in Asia. As President Xi Jinping noted, when Asia fares well, the whole world benefits. China stands ready to continue working with all sides to fully leverage the role of the APT mechanism, support ASEAN centrality in the regional architecture, promote the long-term sound and steady development of the region, and inject more certainty and positive energy to Asia and the world.

First, we need to make sustained efforts to foster a sound regional environment. Amid the changing and turbulent international landscape, we need to doubly cherish the hard-won peace in the region. China will work with all sides to uphold the principles of mutual respect, solidarity and mutual assistance, and jointly safeguard rules and order in the region. We also need to consolidate the social and popular foundation for APT cooperation, and actively promote youth, cultural, tourism and think-tank exchanges to foster greater mutual understanding and friendship.

Second, we need to make sustained efforts to boost the resilience of regional development. In the face of growing risks and challenges, resilience provides strong safeguards for sustained development. China will work with all sides to deliver on the statement on strengthening the connectivity of regional supply chains adopted at this meeting, to enhance the stability and competitiveness of regional industrial systems. China welcomes the establishment of the Rapid Financing Facility (RFF) under the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM) with the incorporation of eligible freely usable currencies (FUCs) as its currencies of choice, and supports making better use of the Credit Guarantee and Investment Facility (CGIF), to jointly improve the regional financial safety net. China is ready to discuss with all countries the innovation of the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) mechanism to bring regional food security cooperation to a higher level. We also need to continue implementing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with high quality, and it is our hope that all parties will support Hong Kong, China in joining RCEP at an early date. China looks forward to accelerating the restart of China-Japan-ROK FTA negotiations.

Third, we need to make sustained efforts to invigorate regional innovation. A new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation continues to advance across the world. APT countries should make further efforts to seize the opportunities, pursue vigorous innovation and catalyze transition and development. China is ready to work with all sides to explore the development of electric vehicle ecosystem, implement APT exchange and cooperation programs in the digital, AI, green development and supply chain fields, foster new growth drivers for cooperation at a faster pace, improve the economic structure, and boost the momentum for sustained development.

I am confident that through joint efforts of APT countries, we will surely make Asia, our common home, a better place, and contribute more to lasting peace, prosperity and stability of the world.

Thank you.

Source:Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China