China stands ready to live in harmony with other countries and work together toward common development and prosperity, said Li Tieying, vice chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, on Tuesday.  

Addressing the ninth St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Li outlined the economic achievements China has made since the 1970s and spoke of China's goals in its all-round development in the first two decades of the century.

China's gross domestic product (GDP) has soared from US$147.3 billion in 1978 to US$1.6 trillion in 2004, growing by an annual 9.4 percent on average, Li said.

In the first two decades of the century, China will strive to build itself into a society that envisages a stronger economy, improved democracy, advanced technology, harmonious communities, a better-off populace, Li said.

In the current tides of globalization, China is willing to develop friendly ties with other countries, including Russia, and to work together to achieve common development and prosperity and safeguard global peace and stability, said the official.

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the most influential of its kind in the former Soviet republics, is an annual event that gathers economic officials and leaders to discuss issues ranging from globalization to regional cooperation. This year's event attracted more than 2,000 participants from some 60 countries.

(Xinhua News Agency June 15, 2005)