PREMIER WEN JIABAO'S PLEDGE THAT CHINA will continue to expand imports from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and properly address problems in the development of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) will be a shot in the arm for bilateral ties.

Wen made the promises during a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the eighth China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in Nanning, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Friday. The summit was held concurrently with the eighth China-ASEAN Expo. The two gatherings drew leaders from ASEAN nations and 2,300 companies.

The expo was initiated by Wen in 2003 as a major platform to promote common prosperity and prepare for the establishment of CAFTA, which was officially inaugurated in Jan 1, 2010.

As this year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of China-ASEAN dialogue relations, the expo, along with a series of concurrent events, is a showcase for prospering trade ties and the good-neighborly relations.

It also presents a golden opportunity for the two sides to expand mutual understanding, chart the future for bilateral cooperation in trade and other fields, and bridge their differences over issues of mutual concern.

Official statistics indicate China-ASEAN trade surged 37.5 percent year-on-year to reach $292.8 billion in 2010, almost 37 times the volume in 1991 when China and ASEAN forged dialogue relations. CAFTA, with a population of 1.9 billion, is now the world's third largest FTA in terms of trade volume.

China and ASEAN have everything to gain from maintaining sound economic ties, which are not only instrumental in achieving common prosperity but also in shoring up regional peace and prosperity too.

At a time when the global economic recovery faces mounting uncertainties and turbulences in West Asia and North Africa continue to unfold, it is a win-win strategy for the two sides to step up mutually beneficial cooperation in a full range of areas.

For bilateral cooperation to move forward, China and ASEAN must handle their political, economic, religious, cultural and other differences in the spirit of equality and mutual trust, and make concerted efforts to expand their common ground.

As disputes over the South China Sea issue flared, China and ASEAN agreed new guidelines in July, to solve the disputes through bilateral negotiations between the sovereign nations directly involved. Nonetheless, a handful of countries, the Philippines for one, have blatantly exploited China's goodwill and have resorted to reckless moves aimed at internationalizing the issue and encroaching upon China's maritime sovereignty.

It's time these countries mend their ways and show due consideration to the larger picture of friendly ties between China and ASEAN countries.

(China Daily 10/22/2011 page5)