On the afternoon of November 21 local time, Premier Li Keqiang attended the 18th China-ASEAN (10+1) Summit in Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. Leaders of the 10 ASEAN countries were present at the meeting. Li Keqiang and Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia co-chaired the meeting, having in-depth discussion and reaching broad consensus with all other parties in China-ASEAN cooperation and regional development.

In his speech, Li Keqiang noted that China-ASEAN relations have gone far beyond the bilateral scope to become a major cornerstone underpinning peace, stability and development in East Asia. China has always regarded ASEAN as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy. We firmly support ASEAN's integration and community-building efforts, and support ASEAN centrality in regional cooperation. Both sides need to stick to the general direction of enhancing political mutual trust in order to strengthen the foundation for cooperation, promoting integrated development in order to achieve common prosperity and win-win cooperation and expanding common interests and seeking common ground while setting aside differences in order to narrow differences, and seize the rare historic opportunities and fully dovetail their development advantages to elevate the overall development level of 11 countries, attain the goal of completing the East Asia Economic Community by 2020, and promote enduring peace and prosperity in East Asia Li Keqiang put forward six-pronged proposals to this end:

First, we need to further strengthen institution-building for China-ASEAN cooperation. We need to implement well the third five-year action plan and the 2+7 cooperation framework, and ensure the success of the commemorative summit for the 25th anniversary of China-ASEAN dialogue relations next year, which is an opportunity we should take to steadily push forward the 10+1 cooperation in a mature track. The launched Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) should complement and work in tandem with existing sub-regional mechanisms. We should continue to support ASEAN in narrowing the development gap among its members.

Second, we need to upgrade our economic and trade cooperation at a faster pace. We need to move speedily to deliver outcomes in our negotiations for an upgraded China-ASEAN FTA, improve the level of trade and investment facilitation and strive to bring our two-way trade to one trillion US dollars by 2020. We need to create a stable, favorable and transparent business environment, expand trade in services, and carry out economic and technological cooperation in agriculture, fishery, forestry and other fields. We need to speed up and conclude as early as possible RCEP negotiations to lay the groundwork for a better regional FTA system.

Third, we need to synergize China's "Belt and Road" Initiative with the development strategies of other countries in the region. China is willing to take an active part in the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity, continue to promote the Pan-Asia railway links and strive to begin construction for such major projects as China-Thailand and China-Laos railways at an early date to promote regional connectivity and Information connectivity. We should make full use of such platforms as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the Silk Road Fund and the China-ASEAN Investment Cooperation Fund and finance relevant projects.

Fourth, we need to explore global cooperation on production capacity. We should give full play to our respective strengths, and promote production capacity cooperation in infrastructure, construction machinery, electricity, construction materials, communications, industrial parks and other fields to achieve win-win results.

Fifth, we need to jointly elevate our security cooperation. China hopes to see the current informal defense ministers' meeting being institutionalized at an early date, and wishes to explore with ASEAN a direct line between our defense authorities. We should step up cooperation in non-traditional security fields such as cross-border crime, counter-terrorism and disaster management.

Sixth, we need to promote sustainable development in the region. The China-ASEAN Year of Maritime Cooperation gives us an opportunity to further advance maritime cooperation. China will strengthen cooperation with ASEAN on agricultural capacity-building to jointly safeguard regional food security. We will set up a platform to share environmental information, explore a China-ASEAN partnership for ecologically friendly urban development, and jointly pursue green development. Taking the 2016 China-ASEAN Year of Education Exchange as an opportunity, we should also deepen people-to-people and culture exchanges and cooperation.

Li Keqiang stressed that China-ASEAN cooperation faces broad prospects and rare opportunities. China will continue to live in harmony with ASEAN countries, promote our common prosperity, and make new contribution to peace and development in East Asia and the world at large.

The leaders of the ASEAN nations spoke positively of the achievements yielded in the ASEAN-China relations, appreciated China for vigorously promoting the Plan of Action to Implement the Joint Declaration on ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity, and believed that China's development will benefit the stability and development of the whole region. The ASEAN leaders thanked China for supporting the ASEAN centrality in regional cooperation, in the construction of the ASEAN community, taking an active part in the implementation of the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity, as well as its tremendous assistance to the ASEAN nations in their national development. Leaders present at the summit expressed that the ASEAN nations attach great importance to and speak positively of their strategic partnership with China. The ASEAN and China enjoy extensive and dynamic exchanges and their common interests far outweigh their differences. All ASEAN nations support China's initiative in hosting the commemorations marking the 25th anniversary of the establishment of dialogue relationship between the ASEAN and China, back identifying the year of 2016 as the ASEAN-China Education Exchange Year, welcome the initiative of jointly building the "Belt and Road" put forward by China, and expect the AIIB to play its role at an early date. The ASEAN is ready to work with China to focus on cooperation in a wide range of areas including politics, economy, trade, connectivity, production capacity, culture and education, properly and constructively handle the differences through peaceful dialogues, prevent the individual issues from affecting the big picture of the ASEAN-China relations, and will join efforts with China to lift bilateral relations to a new high, so as to jointly promote regional peace and development.