Asia must avoid chaos, conflicts

Asia must avoid "chaos and conflicts" or the region's future will be lost, Chinese Premier Li Qiang has said.

Speaking to an international audience of political and business leaders yesterday, Li said China can be an "anchor for world peace" and stability, and will continue undertaking reforms and opening up.

"In this uncertain world, the certainty China offers is an anchor for world peace and development," Li told the annual Boao Forum for Asia on China's Hainan Island. "This is the case in the past and will remain so in the future."

Dozens of business leaders, including Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook, HSBC Chief Executive Noel Quinn, and Blackstone founder Stephen Schwarzman, are attending the forum, which comes as China faces heated competition with the United States as well as the task of reviving the world's second-largest economy after nearly three years of isolation under a tough "zero-Covid" policy, reports Al Jazeera online.