China ready to further boost cooperation with ASEAN: FM

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday expressed China's willingness to further boost cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan on the sidelines of the 13th foreign ministers' meeting of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, on Nov. 20, 2017. [Photo: fmprc.gov.cn]

China has appreciated ASEAN's positive response to the proposal by China to formulate of a vision for strategic partnership between China and ASEAN toward the year 2030, said Wang.

The Chinese foreign minister made the remarks during the meeting with his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan on the sidelines of the 13th foreign ministers' meeting of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in the Myanmar capital. 

Wang also expressed appreciation for the important role of Singapore, as a coordinator of China-ASEAN ties, in deepening China-ASEAN cooperation and properly handling the South China Sea issue as well as its efforts for a successful ASEAN summit and related meetings in the Philippines last week. 

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

China will support Singapore, which holds ASEAN's rotating chair in 2018, in fulfilling its duties as the host country, Wang said.

China is willing to work with ASEAN countries for substantive consultations on the text of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea based on mutual respect and equal footing, so as to continue promoting mutual trust and safeguarding peace and stability in the South China Sea, said the Chinese foreign minister.

For his part, Balakrishnan said Singapore is ready to work with China to bring the all-around pragmatic cooperation between the two countries to a new high and consolidate the positive momentum in the South China Sea.

Also on Monday, Wang met with EU's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, German Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, and his counterparts from Cambodia, Thailand, Malta, Norway and Luxembourg.