Premier Li Qiang Tries to Reassure China’s Southeast Asian Neighbors in ASEAN Address

China’s Premier Li Qiang (L) is greeted by Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo upon his arrival at the 43rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Jakarta on September 6, 2023. Mast IRHAM / POOL / AFP

Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang sought to soothe tensions with its neighbors in Southeast Asia during his keynote address on Wednesday at the ASEAN leaders summit in Jakarta.

Li did not specifically reference the recent confrontations with the Philippines in the South China Sea, nor did he mention the controversial map that China released last week, which further angered a number of Southeast Asian countries that have ongoing boundary disputes with Beijing.

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by Eric Olander

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