China Hails Closer Cooperation with Southeast Asia Nations

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, August 02, 2002

China Hails Closer Cooperation with Southeast Asia Nations

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China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have enhanced cooperation in all aspects at a fast pace since they forged a dialogue mechanism over a decade ago, Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan said Thursday.

"Since the ASEAN-China Dialogue was launched in 1991, the process has witnessed rapid development in bilateral relations and strengthening of friendship and cooperation," Tang said at an annual ASEAN-China ministerial meeting.

"There have been constant exchanges of high level visits, markedly increased mutual trust in the political arena and continuously strengthened economic cooperation and trade," he said.

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

According to official figures, despite volatility in the international economic environment in the aftermath of the 1997 financial crisis, trade between China and ASEAN has maintained an average annual growth rate of 15 percent.

Bilateral trade in the first half of 2002 reached 23.55 billionUS dollars, an increase of 18.7 percent over the same period of the previous year.

Tang said galvanized by the growth of bilateral ties, China's overall relationship with ASEAN has attained a new momentum of development.

"At the China-ASEAN summit held at the end of last year, the two sides reached important consensus on establishing a free tradearea within the next 10 years and identified key cooperation areasincluding agriculture, information and communication technology, human resources development and the development of Mekong River Basin," he said.

China continued to contribute to the newly-launched China-ASEANCooperation Fund, and 10 new related projects have been implemented, according to the minister.

"The establishment of China-ASEAN Business Council last year has also added a new mechanism of cooperation," he said.

"All these have not only further substantiated the China-ASEAN partnership of good neighborliness and mutual trust, but have alsotestified to the huge potential and bright future of the bilateralcooperation," Tang said.

China's development benefits region

China's rapid economic development will not only serve its own need, but also contribute to the growth of other countries in the region, with those in Southeast Asia first to benefit, Tang Jiaxuan said .

"It is well-known that China's growth means new development opportunities instead of challenges to the region," he said at an annual ministerial meeting between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China.

"As a close neighbor and trade partner of China, ASEAN will be the first to benefit from China's growth," Tang said.

Tang told his ASEAN counterparts that in the past year, China'seconomy maintained a rapid and sound growth of 7.3 percent to reach 1.16 trillion US dollars.

China's foreign exchange reserve amounted to 212.2 billion dollars and total foreign trade volume exceeded 500 billion dollars.

Moreover, China's membership in the World Trade Organization added new vitality to its development. In the first half of this year, the growth rate of China's economy reached 7.8 percent and its foreign trade volume totaled 270.71 billion dollars, representing an increase of 12.3 percent over the same period of last year.

"We have every confidence of attaining the goal of a 7-percent economic growth rate for this year," said the minister.

"China is prepared to strengthen its multidimensional cooperation with ASEAN on the basis of mutual benefits," he said.

China became a dialogue partner of ASEAN in 1992, which comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Thailand, the Philippines, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam.

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