Premier Li Qiang arrives in Manila to co-chair 29th China-ASEAN Summit

Premier Li Qiang is in Manila for the 29th China-ASEAN Summit scheduled for Monday as this year marks the fifth anniversary of the launch of their comprehensive strategic partnership.

Li has concluded his three-day Thailand tour and landed in the Philippine capital Sunday evening for an official visit and a series of leaders' meetings at the invitation of President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr., whose country holds the rotating ASEAN chairmanship.

The Philippine Finance Secretary Frederick Go received Beijing's top government official ahead of the regional gathering as China looks to strengthen solidarity and mutual trust.

The priorities, as highlighted by the Foreign Ministry this week, include bringing into force the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade Protocol and deepening cooperation in AI, digital economy and connectivity.

ASEAN leaders, alongside their dialogue partners in Asia and the West, will focus on the fallout of the war in the Middle East and are likely to step up calls for self-restraint and peaceful settlement of conflicts.

Australia and the Philippines have sealed a defence agreement earlier in the day, while ASEAN keeps non-political Myanmar representation pending meaningful progress on the five-point peace plan.

Leaders of the 11-member bloc agree in a joint statement that they should pursue a calibrated engagement with Myanmar in stages after years of excluding its military-backed leaders from high-level meetings.

{Danni Zhou tvb news}

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{Premier Li Qiang arrives in Manila to attend China-ASEAN Summit}