China has embarked on a path of peaceful growth that is dictated by its need for development, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told Asian leaders meeting yesterday in Kuala Lumpur.
Addressing the 2005 ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, Wen said China's "development is uneven, as many areas remain backward. For China to be fully developed, it will take the unremitting efforts of several generations, or even a dozen generations of the Chinese people," Wen said.
China therefore "needs a durable and peaceful international environment that enables it to concentrate on economic development," he said.
The session was held in conjunction with the 11th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in the Malaysian capital.
Wen told the participants that China will rely mainly on its own strength, vast domestic market and abundant work force, but it also needs "extensive international cooperation."
Given the importance of promoting economic development, Wen said, the business community "plays a crucial role," and "serves as a bridge that forges strong economic and trade ties between China and other East Asian countries."
China's economic development not only benefits its 1.3 billion people but also provides opportunities for other East Asian countries, Wen pointed out.
With imports growing by an average annual rate of more than 15 percent in recent years, China ranks as the world's third-largest and Asia's largest importer.
In 2004, China's imports from other Asian countries and areas grew by 35 percent over 2003 to about US$370 billion. And with growing domestic demand, China will import from other Asian countries more than US$2 trillion worth of goods in the next five years, said the Chinese premier.
Overseas investment by Chinese companies has registered annual growth of more than 20 percent, with 80 percent of the investments made in Asia. As Chinese companies continue to expand their business, China will contribute more significantly to Asia's economic growth, he said.
China is committed to maintaining Asia's stability. During the 1997 financial crisis, China resisted pressure to devalue its currency, thus contributing to Asia's economic stability, Wen noted. The country took a crucial step in reforming its exchange rate regime in July, abandoning its peg to the US dollar and adopting a managed float based on a basket of currencies.
(Xinhua)