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Closer China-ASEAN economic cooperation urged
JAKARTA - Visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao urged here Tuesday for closer economic cooperation between China and ASEAN countries, setting the goal of bringing China-ASEAN trade to 200 billion US dollars before 2010. He made the call while addressing a banquet with personalities from various sectors in Indonesia. The Chinese president said the rapid growth of China's economy has presented new opportunities for all countries in the world, its neighbors in particular. In recent years, trade between China and ASEAN has maintained a growth rate of nearly 30 percent, reaching 105.9 billion US dollars in 2004 with ASEAN enjoying a surplus of over 20 billion dollars. Millions of Chinese citizens travel to ASEAN countries every year, for business or for sightseeing. An increasing number of Chinese enterprises look to ASEAN countries as favored destinations for investment, he noted. He added that China's investment in Indonesia's energy sector alone has topped 1.2 billion dollars. "This year, China-ASEAN Free Trade Area has been formally set in motion, which is bound to further broaden the prospects in our economic and business cooperation. We have full confidence in realizing the goal of bringing China-ASEAN trade to 200 billion before 2010," said the Chinese president. As a neighbor of ASEAN countries, China has all along valued its relations with ASEAN. "China will stay on the path of peaceful development, follow the principle of developing friendship and partnerships with neighbors and the policy of working for an amicable, tranquil and prosperous neighborhood and press ahead with the friendly exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation with all ASEAN countries, including Indonesia, so as to make its due contribution to greater peace, stability and prosperity in the region and the world at large," said the Chinese president in his speech. On China's economic development, the Chinese president said since China launched its reform and opening-up policy 27 years ago,immense achievements have been scored in its economic and social development. In 2003, China's per capita GDP topped 1,000 US dollars for the first time. Last year, China's GDP totaled 1.6494 trillion dollars,up by 9.5 percent over the previous year; foreign trade stood at 1.1548 trillion dollars, up by 35.7 percent. China now accounts for 4 percent of the world economy and 6 percent of world trade, up from 1 percent in both categories in 1978. "However, we are also sober-minded about the difficulties and problems with China's economic and social development, mainly the weak foundation of agriculture, an economic growth pattern that needs to be transformed fundamentally and the sharp contradictions between economic and social development on the one hand and population, resources and the environment on the other," said the Chinese president. He noted that China has taken timely measures to strengthen andimprove macro-regulation, effectively check the unhealthy or destabilizing factors and reinforce the weak links in the economy, thus successfully maintaining the sound momentum of steady and fast growth. "We have full confidence in sustaining sound economicand social development in China," he noted. Hu is on a state visit to Indonesia after attending the 2005 Asian-African
Summit and the Golden Jubilee Commemoration of the 1955 Asian-African Conference
in Bandung. He will leave for the Philippines on Tuesday to continue his
three-nation Southeast Asian tour. |
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