China offers ASEAN US$20b in loans
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail Shanghai Daily, November 14, 2014
Premier Li Keqiang proposed a friendship treaty with Southeast Asian countries yesterday and offered US$20 billion in loans but held firm on the line that Beijing will only settle South China Sea disputes directly with other claimants.
"China ... stands ready to become the first dialogue partner to sign with ASEAN a treaty of friendship and cooperation," Li told leaders at an East Asian summit in Myanmar.
Li said China was willing to make pacts with more countries on good-neighborliness and friendship.
Regarding maritime issues, the premier said that the situation in the South China Sea is on the whole stable and the freedom and safety of navigation in the region is assured.
China and ASEAN members have identified a dual-track approach for dealing with the South China Sea issue, he said, according to which specific disputes are to be solved through negotiation and consultation by the countries directly concerned and peace and stability in the region be jointly upheld by China and ASEAN countries working together.
"China and ASEAN agreed to actively carry out consultation to reach, on the basis of consensus and at an early date, a code of conduct in the South China Sea, for which early harvest has been achieved," Li said.
"In seeking the settlement of disputes, China proposes that relevant countries actively explore joint development, as this is a realistic and effective way to manage differences," he added.
Li said China stood ready to work with others in the region on issues including terrorism, diseases, climate change and disaster management.
He also offered ASEAN countries US$20 billion in preferential and special loans to develop infrastructure, an attractive proposition for a region struggling to fund the roads, ports and railways needed for growth.
Half of the offer is a preferential loan and the other half a special loan set up by China Development Bank.
China will also set aside 30 million yuan (US$4.89 million) in the next three years for China-ASEAN economic and technical cooperation, Li said.
To achieve regional economic integration, the premier urged cooperation in six key areas -- promoting trade and investment, accelerating interconnectivity, expanding financial cooperation, stepping up poverty reduction cooperation, advancing maritime cooperation and intensifying people-to-people exchanges.
He said China will work with other parties to conclude negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership by the end of 2015, and called for strengthening financial and fiscal cooperation with a special focus on improving the Chiang Mai Initiative, a currency swap arrangement expected to relieve regional short-term liquidity pressures.
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)