Premier Li: China remains a thriving land in global economy

Premier Li Qiang said on Thursday that China’s economy will remain a thriving land in the global economy, and the expansion and upgrading of the massive Chinese market will keep generating significant dividends, offering greater trade and investment opportunities for other countries.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 10th Annual Meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Board of Governors, Li affirmed China’s commitment to high-standard opening up and its ongoing deep integration into the global economy, a move set to create fresh development opportunities worldwide.

Over the past decade, the number of AIIB members grew from 57 to 110, Li said, praising the bank for having fueled the common development of its members, pioneered new models of global financial governance and set a new example for international multilateral cooperation.

Regarding the bank’s future development, Li said that in the face of global growth challenges, the AIIB should enhance its support for the members’ development.

“The AIIB ought to offer high-quality, low-cost financing that caters to members’ varied development needs, facilitate the sharing of expertise and experience and help strengthen their endogenous growth momentum,” Li said.

Furthermore, the premier emphasized that the AIIB needs to promote more international dialogue and coordination and play a better role as a new multilateral platform in addressing global governance challenges.

“China is ready to work with all parties to support the AIIB in starting a new decade of glory and make greater contributions to promoting the sustainable development of its members and advancing the building of a community with a shared future for humanity,” Li said.

Held under the theme “Connecting for Development, Collaborating for Prosperity,” this year’s meeting was jointly hosted by the Ministry of Finance, the Beijing Municipal Government, and the AIIB.

The opening ceremony was attended by around 2,500 people, including AIIB President Jin Liqun, board governors from AIIB members, heads of major global multilateral and bilateral development institutions, leaders of important financial institutions and private sectors, and representatives of non-governmental organizations.