ASEAN ties remain priority of China: FM

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN - China's new leadership will continue to place high importance on its relationship with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which remains a priority of China's neighboring diplomacy, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here Sunday.

A united, self-sustaining, prosperous and vigorous ASEAN accords with China's strategic interests, Wang told a meeting of the foreign ministers of ASEAN and China.

China's new leadership is committed to continuously consolidating and deepening the strategic partnership between the two sides and adheres to friendly consultations to properly handle its problems with some ASEAN countries, he added.

With increased mutual trust, strengthened communication and a determination to remove obstruction and enhance cooperation, the China-ASEAN collaboration will surely have better prospects and achieve more fruits, Wang said.

He noted that this year the two sides are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the China-ASEAN strategic partnership, and both sides have achieved common development with an adherence to good-neighborliness, solidarity and mutual help.

Wang said the two-way relationship has grown beyond the bilateral level and become a major driving force behind East Asia's development and an indispensable underpinning for regional stability and prosperity.

The 10-member ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.