Li Qiang to tout ‘righteous’ China as Asean forum mutes criticism of Beijing: analysts
Regional leaders likely to ‘paper over’ South China Sea tensions as Chinese premier attends high-level gathering in Laos, experts say
Asked about Li’s attendance at this week’s East Asia Summit – one of the forums involving the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the group’s dialogue partners – Mao Ning, a ministry spokeswoman, said the region had maintained a good momentum of development but faced “more unstable, uncertain and unpredictable factors”.
“Faced with the new situation, the countries and peoples in the region cherish the hard-won peace and stability even more, are more eager to achieve common development, and need to respond to challenges through unity and cooperation even more,” she said.
“China looks forward to working with Asean and other regional countries to build consensus, deepen mutual trust, strengthen cooperation, and inject new impetus into peace, stability, development and prosperity in the region and the world.”
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Philippines and China trade blame over confrontation in South China Sea
China will work with the 10-member regional grouping to promote economic integration, boost cooperation in fields such as digital economy and artificial intelligence, and “maintain regional order”, Mao added.