ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, April 7 (UPI) -- Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has said that a stronger and more developed China would never seek to control or pose a threat to the rest of Asia.
Wen made the remarks Wednesday in his keynote address to the 26-member Asia Cooperation Dialogue in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, the BBC reported.
Pakistan was the first stop of the Chinese leader's first tour of South Asia. Pakistan and China signed a number of accords during Wen's three-day visit.
In his keynote address Wen said, "China will never seek hegemony. ... Even if we become stronger and more developed, we will not stand in the way of others, still less become a threat to others."
Wen also said that Asia needs peace if it is to have prosperity and that China wants free trade with other nations in the region.
Earlier, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz called for more investment and business ventures between forum members. Member nations of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue, set up in 2002, include China, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea and several Gulf states.
