Chinese Vice Premier calls for sound, sustainable Development in Asia

Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang called for joint efforts to push forward Asia’s sound and sustainable development in the wake of complex global situations, as he attended the opening ceremony of the 2012 annual meeting of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) held on Monday.Asian countries should promote internal drivers of growth and stay open and inclusive so as to achieve sound and sustainable development, Li said in a speech delivered at the ceremony.Li said Asian countries should also go after mutual benefit and win-win result, promote solidarity and harmony and stay committed to peaceful development in order to achieve the goal.Among attendants of the annual session are Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Karim Masimov, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Iranian Vice President Mohammad-Javad Mohammadizadeh, Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong and Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai.More than 2,000 government, business and academic leaders from around the globe attended the meeting, which this year adopts the theme “Asia in the Changing World: Moving toward Sound and Sustainable Development.”Despite global financial crisis, Asian economy has been the first to recover, with its combined GDP currently accounting for over 30 percent of the world’s total. Its contribution to global growth also surpasses 30 percent, and its late-development advantages and growth potential have become more evident, the premier said.