Promote Mutually Beneficial Cooperation and Common Development
--Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi talks about Premier Wen Jiabao's attendance of the 9th Asia-Europe Meeting summit (ASEM9) and visit to Laos
From November 4 to 6, 2012, Premier Wen Jiabao was invited to attend the 9th Asia-Europe Meeting summit in Vientiane and pay an official visit to Laos. As the trip came to the end, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, who accompanied Wen during the visit, introduced to the accompanying journalists Premier Wen's trip and its outcomes.
Yang said currently the international situation continues to undergo profound changes, the world economy is at the stage of slow recovery and global problems have become increasingly prominent. Asia enjoys a generally stable situation and a sound growth momentum, while Europe has strong economic strength and is actively coping with the debt crisis. Asian and European countries have strong will to strengthen cooperation. ASEM, as the only forum for inter-regional dialogue between Asia and Europe, has great influence to world peace and development. China is an advocate and a participant of the Asia-Europe dialogue and cooperation. Premier Wen attended the ASEM summits for five consecutive times. At the seventh ASEM Summit in Beijing in October 2008, Premier Wen and leaders of Asian and European countries put forward initiatives on joining hands to overcome difficulties, contributing to the international community's timely response to the financial crisis. Laos is the host country for ASEM9 and the relationship between China and Laos is a model of good-neighborly friendship between China and neighboring countries and has broad prospects for development. Drawing much attention, Premier Wen's current visit is a major multilateral diplomatic move with neighboring countries on the eve of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
Premier Wen attended the opening ceremony of ASEM9, the ASEM enlargement ceremony and the leaders meeting and delivered a keynote speech. He also met with state and government leaders, and participated in extensive discussions on the international economic and financial situation and global issues of common concern, Yang said. Wen introduced China's positive efforts to promote world economic recovery and growth and raised proposals on further deepening the cooperation between Asia and Europe. Wen's remarks and proposals showcased China's image as a responsible global player and boosted confidence among ASEM partners to overcome the crisis, Yang said. They once again conveyed to the world a positive signal of Asia and Europe working together to promote world economic growth and maintain peace and stability, pushing forward China's friendly relations and cooperation with relevant countries. Premier Wen Jiabao also met with Lao party and state leaders, reaching important consensus on deepening good-neighborly and friendly relations. Premier Wen's current visit was timely, significant and fruitful, scoring a great success, Yang added.
I. Asia-Europe Cooperation Promoted
ASEM is an important platform for Asian and European countries to promote mutual understanding, expand consensus and deepen cooperation, Yang said. This year's ASEM summit was an event of unprecedented scale which gathered leaders or representatives of 51 countries and heads of relevant regional organizations. Focusing on the purpose of peace, development and cooperation, Premier Wen comprehensively expounded China's position and put forward a number of important initiatives and pragmatic measures. Premier Wen, together with other participating leaders, pushed for significant positive results at the summit and advanced the in-depth development of a new Asia-Europe comprehensive partnership.
Yang said the theme of ASEM9 was "Friends for Peace, Partners for Prosperity" and participating leaders discussed economic, financial and global issues as well as Asia-Europe cooperation at the summit. In his keynote speech, titled Common Responsibility to Promote Stable Growth of World Economy, Wen elaborated on China's views on the world economic and financial situation and its current economic situation, expressing his confidence in the future development. He called on Asia and Europe to make concerted efforts and strengthen their cooperation so as to jointly shoulder the responsibility of reviving the global economy. Premier Wen elaborated China's views on Asia-Europe cooperation. First, free, open and fair international trade is an important engine of world economic growth. He called for greater sincerity and determination to open the market as well as boycott trade and investment protectionism, adding that countries involved in trade frictions should resolve their disputes in more sensible ways. Second, strengthening macro-economic policy coordination remains an important task. Wen called for taking strong, sustainable and balanced growth of the world economy as a common goal, to promote economic growth and positive interaction between national economies. Third, promoting scientific and technological innovation is a fundamental means to overcoming the crisis. Wen underlined the importance of policy dialogue for scientific innovation, saying countries should deepen communication in this regard and join hands to promote scientific development in clean energy, environment protection, space technologies, biology, information and communications and sustainable urban development. Fourth, a sound global economic governance system is the institutional guarantee for world economic growth. He called on further reform of the global financial system and the installation of a just and transparent pricing mechanism for large commodities. He also called for efforts to push the Doha Round negotiations of the WTO to achieve substantive results at an early date.
Wen raised a new four-point initiative on deepening Asia-Europe cooperation: to organize seminars to study the future direction of Asia-Europe Meeting; to establish an Asia-Europe network for water resources science and technology cooperation and innovation; to carry out Asia-Europe forestry cooperation demonstration projects; to leverage the Asia-Europe Fund in a better way. All of which showed China's positive attitude towards strengthening Asia-Europe economic partnership for a win-win situation.
Wen also expounded China's proposals on such global issues as energy security and disaster prevention and mitigation. The Chinese premier urged Asia and Europe to work together to formulate a new concept of mutually beneficial cooperation, diversified forms of development and common energy security through coordination. Wen put forward initiatives including developing clean and renewable energy, safeguarding energy market order, improving efficiency and enhancing cooperation on disaster prevention and mitigation.
The participants appreciated China's active and constructive role in promoting Asia-Europe dialogue and cooperation, agreeing that the Asian and European countries should seize the opportunity to carry out more comprehensive, close cooperation and jointly safeguard peace, stability and development in Asia and Europe so that the people of all countries will benefit more from the outcome of the cooperation.
Bangladesh, Switzerland, and Norway were formally admitted as new members of ASEM at the summit which also published "ASEM9 Chairman's Statement" and the "Vientiane Declaration on Strengthening Partnership for Peace and Development". All this helped to enhance the international status and influence of ASEM and plan for its future development.
Premier Wen also met with French President Francois Hollande, Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev and Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti on the sidelines of the summit, reaching extensive consensus on promoting bilateral ties and China-Europe relations. Wen also introduced the history and facts of the Diaoyu Islands and stated the positions of the Chinese government on the issue.
II. China-Laos Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Cooperation Further Lifted
Yang said China and Laos have been firmly supporting and sincerely cooperating with each other for a long time, adding that both countries, now in the critical period in their pursuit of socialism, face heavy tasks of reform, development and maintaining stability. Both sides are truly good neighbors, good friends and good partners. Wen's visit to Laos focused exactly on the future relations of both countries and both parties, and was aimed at promoting greater development for the relations at a new starting point through in-depth exchanges of views with Lao leaders, Yang said.
Wen met and held talks respectively with General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and Lao President Choummaly Saygnasone and Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong in a cordial and friendly atmosphere. During the meeting and talks, Wen raised proposals on further deepening bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation, Yang said. Wen called on the two countries to continue to support each other politically, intensify exchanges on state governance and policy-making, fully implement the consensus reached between them and map out an action plan as soon as possible for their comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation. The two countries, Wen said, should also enhance cooperation in agriculture, infrastructure construction and satellite communication, boost coordination under the mechanism of the Mekong river law enforcement security cooperation, promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and boost solidarity and mutual trust between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The Lao leaders gave a warm welcome to Wen's visit and attendance at ASEM, and spoke highly of the traditional friendship between the two countries and the outcomes of bilateral substantial cooperation, Yang said. The Lao leaders expressed willingness to enhance communication and cooperation with China in all areas and intensify coordination on international and regional affairs so as to continuously push forward bilateral relations and relations between China and ASEAN, he said. The Lao leaders also wished the upcoming 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) a success and voiced confidence that China's cause of building socialism with Chinese characteristics will achieve greater success under the leadership of the CPC.
In a wide coverage, Lao media said Wen's visit is an embodiment of Beijing's high attention to the relations with Vientiane and support for Laos to hold ASEM. Lao media said Wen's proposals on deepening bilateral relations would inject fresh vitality and impetus to the good-neighborly relations and cooperation.
Wen's visit to Laos and attendance at ASEM have achieved the goals of enhancing mutual trust, deepening cooperation and planning for the future, and have far-reaching significance in pushing forward ASEM evolvement and promoting Asia-Europe cooperation and China-Laos relations, Yang said. China is willing to work together with Asian and European countries to jointly face challenges, achieve common development and make greater contributions to promoting the development and prosperity of the world.
