Time for Asean, China, GCC to cooperate amidst rising global challenges, says Li Qiang
KUALA LUMPUR: Amidst rising global challenges, Chinese Premier Li Qiang has called for deeper cooperation between Asean, China and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), citing shared opportunities.
He said all countries were facing common new challenges and development opportunities.
'In a sense, they are more scarce and valuable. At this juncture, it is more urgent and requires more foresight for us to strengthen cooperation.
'In today's era, if we can work together to meet challenges, we are creating opportunities,' he said in his remarks at the Gala Dinner and opening ceremony of the Asean-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-China Economic Forum 2025 on Tuesday (May 27).
He said economic globalisation was currently experiencing an unprecedented major impact.
'Peaceful development and win-win cooperation, the values we have long adhered to, have been severely challenged.
'Our joint response to these problems will bring important opportunities to countries.
'In the face of geopolitical conflicts and other challenges, we must persist in deepening mutual trust and enhancing unity,' he said.
'Only this way, we can create long-term strategic opportunities," he said.
He said that while Asean, the GCC and China make up approximately a quarter of the population and economy, another parameter was that the three sides only account for 5.4% of global trade.
'This tells us we have great room and potential to be tapped into. This is something we must deepen our cooperation towards, for the future.
'I believe that as cooperation between our three sides continues deepening, there will be a steady stream of increasing trade and investment, which will effectively promote our development and the growth of our businesses,' he said.
Earlier Tuesday, the inaugural Asean-GCC-China Economic Summit, themed "Synergising Economic Opportunities Towards Shared Prosperity", was held.
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