China unswervingly pursues a path of peaceful development, reiterated Premier Wen Jiabao in Kunming on July 5, 2005.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the Second Summit of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) with the theme of "A Stronger Partnership for Common Prosperity," Wen said that China not only pursues its own well-being and development, but also seeks common prosperity for all countries.

China will mainly count on itself in the process of development, but it also needs better cooperation with the outside, particularly with its neighbors, said the premier.

He said it was his firm belief that China's development not only benefits its more than one billion people, but also presents development opportunities to other countries, its neighbors in particular, thus contributing to prosperity and stability of the region and the world at large.

He said after 26 years of reform and opening-up, China has blazed a path of development suited to its own national conditions.

However, he said that despite the impressive growth of the Chinese economy as a whole, "we must be sober enough to recognize the fact that China's per capita GDP ranks lower than the 100th in the world due to its huge population."

There are still tens of millions of poor people in the country, plus an uneven domestic regional development, serious resources constraints and mounting environmental pressure, presenting a great number of difficulties and problems on its way ahead, he said.

There is still a very long way to go before China modernizes itself, which will require strenuous efforts of several or even a dozen of generations, he asserted.

The premier said China is happy and ready to join hands with other GMS countries to work for common development and prosperity through deeper and fuller cooperation.

Source: Xinhua