Premier Li urges financial, connectivity cooperation in East Asia

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday called on the East Asian economies to enhance cooperation in finance and regional connectivity. [Special coverage]

Li made the remarks while attending the 17th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Plus Three (China, Japan and South Korea) Summit in Nay Pyi Taw, capital of Myanmar.

He said that China is willing to coordinate the implementation of East Asian inter-connectivity, trade and investment, as well as poverty reduction, three of the 25 priority areas listed in the report of the East Asia Vision Group II (EAVGII).

In his six-point proposal on strengthening regional cooperation, Li urged the ASEAN Plus Three countries to promote East Asian economic integration process, enhance the level of regional financial cooperation, strengthen regional connectivity, deepen cooperation to improve people' s livelihood, expand the channel for the people-to-people exchanges and advance public health cooperation.

The premier said that the ASEAN Plus Three countries should enhance financial cooperation and improve the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization, which is expected to effectively relieve regional short-term liquidity strains.

He also urged to establish an efficient regional mechanism for economic regulation, coordination and early warning step by step. China and ASEAN should further expand the scale and width of the local currency swap, enlarge the local currency settlement in the cross-border trade, Li told the summit.

Regarding regional inter-connectivity construction, the premier said China stands ready to strengthen coordination with Japan and South Korea to give a full display of their edges in capital, technology and talents to assist ASEAN in its infrastructure construction.

He also pledged that China will provide 30 million yuan (4.9 million U.S. dollars) for the East Asia Maritime Cooperation platform. Talking about the agriculture cooperation, Li said that all sides should enhance their cooperation in agricultural technical exchanges and food security, as well as improve the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve mechanism, in a bid to feed East Asia.

Stressing the importance of peace and stability, Li urged countries in the region to treat each other on an equal footing with mutual trusts.

"We should discard the zero-sum mentality of win-or-lose and make a joint effort to control conflicts and differences, so as not to lose East Asia's historical development opportunities because of the distraction," Li told the summit.

He also voiced his country's willingness to reach a treaty on good-neighborliness, friendship and cooperation with the ASEAN members.

Li arrived here Wednesday to attend a series of leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation and pay an official visit to Myanmar.