Chinese PM to start southeast Asia trip next week

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is to attend the East Asia leaders meetings and pay an official visit to Brunei, Thailand and Vietnam next week, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced. Li will make the three-leg Southeast Asia trip from October 9 to 15 at the invitation of Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in a press release, according to China's news agency (Xinhua). During his trip to Seri Begawan, Li will attend the 16th China-ASEAN leaders meeting, the 16th ASEAN plus three(China, Japan and the Republic of Korea) summit and the 8th East Asia Summit to be held in Brunei, the chair nation of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).