Help vulnerable..

14 Asia source of dynamism

For his part, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Asia is home to half of the world’s population and Asians are increasingly better educated with energy, ideas and dynamism.

“China is one of the biggest economies in the world, its consumer market is expanding, its technology is advancing rapidly and its workforce is increasingly skilled. India, too, is developing steadily with the youthful demographic advantage and Southeast Asia has a growing middle class and is projected collectively to become the fourth largest economy in the world by the end of the decade,” he said.

He said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a key regional community that promotes cooperation.

“ASEAN member states are working systematically to strengthen integration among ourselves,” he said.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang said Asia is the ballast stone and propeller of the world economy.

Li said Asia continues to deepen cooperation on food, energy, ecological and environmental protection, disaster mitigation, climate change, poverty reduction, and other fields.

“Work together to build a community with a shared future in Asia, build an anchor of world peace and stability, a source of growth power, and a new highland of cooperation, inject more certainty into world peace and development, and strive to create a better future for mankind,” Li said.

During the forum’s panel discussion, former Philippine president and now House Deputy Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said China’s mode of modernization is “inclusive growth for all”.

She said China’s “enlightened attitude towards opening in inclusive manner” provides future for globalization.

Arroyo, a member of the Board of BFA, said China’s rise as the world’s second largest economy should not be viewed as a threat but as an opportunity for the rest of the world.

“China is like an uncle with many nephews and nieces who looks after the good of the whole family,” she said.