Asia must not have chaos, wars if it wants greater development: premier

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday said that Asia must not have chaos or wars if it wants to achieve greater development in the future.

Li urged efforts to jointly safeguard a peaceful and stable environment for development and inject more certainty into the volatile global environment.

Li made the remarks in a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2023.

Li said the concept of a community with a shared future for humanity has become "a flag that leads times and human progress."

Li said that the concept has also become a source of strength promoting sustained world peace and common prosperity.

In the past decade, China has achieved a series of major results in advancing and building a community with a shared future for humanity, Li said.

Li said that China will never seek modernization through war, colonization or plunder. It is committed to achieving modernization for more than 1.4 billion people through peace and development, and this will create strong driving force for economic growth in Asia and the world at large.

Li opposed the abuse of unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction, picking sides, bloc confrontation and "a new Cold War."

China stays committed to resolving differences and disputes between countries through peaceful means and jointly safeguarding world peace and stability, Li said.

Li called for upholding mutual respect and trust, openness and inclusiveness, respecting other countries' independently-chosen development paths, and opposing the narrative of "clash of civilizations" and ideological confrontation.

Li said that China will introduce a series of new measures to expand market access, optimize business environment and facilitate project implementation.