On January 15, 2007, the 2nd East Asia Summit opened in the central Philippine city of Cebu. Leaders of 10 ASEAN member countries, China, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the Republic of Korea and India attended the summit. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will deliver an important speech, putting forward principled proposals on furthering East Asia cooperation.

 

At the summit, the Chinese premier is set to exchange views with other leaders on energy security and the future development of the event itself in an attempt to make it play a constructive and active role in enhancing cooperation in the region. He will put forward several principled proposals on the five key areas of energy, avian influenza prevention, finance, education and mitigation of natural disasters.

 

An official with the Chinese Foreign Ministry said earlier that the East Asia Summit is a result of the in-depth development of East Asia cooperation, marking another new platform for such cooperation. China supports the summit to remain open and inclusive and encourages ASEAN to play a leading role.

 

On the same day, Premier Wen and other leaders will attend the signing ceremony of the Cebu Declaration on Energy Security in East Asia.

 

Wen also met with Australian Prime Minister John Howard on the same day. He will, together with other leaders, attend a public lecture given by President of Asian Development Bank (ADB) Haruhiko Kuroda on the economic and financial situation in East Asia.

 

On the afternoon of the same day, Wen will leave Cebu for the Philippine capital city of Manila, kicking off his official visit to the country. He will also hold talks with Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in the evening.

The 1st East Asia Summit was held in the Malaysian capital city of Kuala Lumpur on December 14, 2005.