Toward progress of friendship and inclusive development

Editor's Note: The following is an excerpt of the speech by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the opening session of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Summit in Bangkok on December 20, 2014.

It is my great pleasure to come to the beautiful city of Bangkok. I wish to thank the Thai government for the thoughtful arrangements it has made for this meeting. This is the first time for me to attend the GMS Summit and I take great pleasure in having exchanges with friends, both old and new.

Currently, the global economic recovery remains sluggish, the development of major economies is showing a trend of divergence and regional hotspot issues keep flaring up. Asia, although faced with the challenge of downward economic pressure, remains a dynamic region for growth in the world. This is attributable to the peaceful and stable development environment of the region and to continued progress in regional and subregional cooperation. China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have established a wide-ranging, multi-tiered and comprehensive pattern for good-neighborliness, friendship and cooperation, as well as a community of shared destinies where we stand by each other in both the good and bad times. Joint efforts are being made to implement the "2+7" cooperation framework reached last year to promote peaceful coexistence, inclusive and sustainable development as well as win-win progress. I wish to reaffirm here that China will remain committed to the path of peaceful development. We will firmly uphold regional peace and stability and firmly support the process of ASEAN integration, and will always take ASEAN as a priority in our diplomatic agenda.