"China always considers ASEAN an important and a major partner in its foreign diplomacy," he stated at the 25th commemoration of the ASEAN-China dialogue partnership here on Monday.
China, he pointed out, strongly supports the integrity of ASEAN and also respects ASEAN as a regional cooperation and integration center.
"China even supports ASEANs role in regional forums and international cooperation. China would like to use the 25 years of dialogue partnership with ASEAN as a momentum to forge better relations in the future, " Kong Xuanyou said.
ASEAN and China will continue to deepen mutual trust and mutual respect to enhance cooperation and relationship between the two parties, making it really beneficial not only for both, but also for the international community.
Kong Xuanyou stressed that ASEAN and China can continue improving and expanding mutual cooperation, especially in the fields of trade, investment, tourism, culture and education.
"In the future, we can increase our cooperation in science and technology and telecommunications to enter a new era that is full of challenges. Only by working together, the ASEAN and China will be jointly able to achieve a very good relationship in the future," he said.
A similar statement was delivered by the Secretary General of the ASEAN-China Centre, Yang Xiuping. He said with 30 percent of the worlds population, the ASEAN and China could become very strategic partners in the regional forum and can enhance international cooperation.
"In the future, the ASEAN and China relations will have excellent prospects, especially since the two sides have agreed to adopt the Action Plan of the Joint Declaration of the ASEAN-China Partnership for Peace and Prosperity 2016-2020," he said.
Various forms of cooperation have been established, including one belt, one road and the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
"These cooperation initiatives prove that the ASEAN-China relations are becoming stronger and cooperation is increasing," Yang Xiuping said.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016
