Premier Wen Jiabao attends the opening of the Special ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) Leaders' Meeting on Aftermath Quake and Tsunami Summit at the Jakarta Convention Centre in Jakarta, capital of Indonesia yesterday. -Xinhua

Premier Wen Jiabao, addressing world leaders gathered in Jakarta yesterday for an international tsunami relief summit, proposed a wide-ranging assistance plan from China that includes everything from help in developing an early warning system for weather disasters to reconstruction aid and debt relief.

The plan he unveiled in the Indonesian capital also covered emergency aid, the revival of regional tourism and improved systems for information exchange.

The premier said the December 26 catastrophe has highlighted the extreme importance of a tsunami early warning mechanism.

China will invite experts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and international organizations to a China-ASEAN workshop on tsunami warnings scheduled for January 25-26 in Beijing, he said.

The Chinese government is ready to help neighboring countries establish an earthquake monitoring and tidal wave warning network.

Wen also expressed China's readiness to share satellite data on weather forecasting, environmental monitoring and disaster assessment.

Wen called on countries and international organizations to work together in honoring their relief commitments.

"We should readjust and beef up the aid packages in quick response to the needs of the national governments and people in the disaster areas and facilitate their speedy delivery ... provide medical treatment and prevent the outbreak of epidemics," he said.

He said Beijing will support cooperation between Chinese financial entities with the World Bank and other international financial institutions. The central government will work with the disaster-stricken countries and encourage participation by Chinese enterprises in their reconstruction and development through government-backed credit and interest-free or low-interest loans.

"We are willing to help with the repair and rebuilding of roads, bridges, schools, hospitals and other infrastructure," the Chinese premier said. "We would like to give positive consideration to relieving and reducing the governmental debts of the hardest-hit countries as a gesture to support reconstruction there."

The Chinese government has decided to write off part of the government debts owed to it by Sri Lanka, the premier said.

Given that most of the countries in the disaster region depend on tourism as a pillar industry, Wen proposed a study to explore ways to revive the sector.

The Chinese government will encourage its citizens to travel to these countries when conditions return to normal, and it has pledged to work with the nations on disaster preparedness at resort areas.

"We also hope to see strong efforts by international tourism organizations in this regard," Wen said.

The premier added that China is willing to host an Asian conference on disaster reduction and is ready to finance experience sharing and training projects in disaster prevention, disaster relief and post-disaster reconstruction.

"We propose that disaster reduction, disaster prevention and disaster relief be listed as key priorities," he said.

"We highly appreciate the efforts made by the United Nations and the international community in assisting the afflicted countries. We support the leadership and coordination by the UN and the World Health Organization in offering humanitarian assistance, and pay high tribute to the primary role played by ASEAN," Wen said.