China expects to enhance friendship and cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN), Gu Xiulian, chairwoman of the China-ASEAN Association, said in Beijing Wednesday evening.

Since its establishment, the association has held a series of activities to promote friendship and cooperation between China and ASEAN, said Gu, also vice chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China, at a reception held by the China-ASEAN Association in Beijing.

The China-ASEAN Association, founded on Aug. 3, 2004, aims to promote people-to-people and non-governmental cooperation between China and ASEAN. It helps enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the people of China and ASEAN countries by holding various activities, including personnel exchanges, seminars and cultural events.

The China-ASEAN Association held the third session of its first executive council in Beijing on Wednesday afternoon.

Gu expressed the wish that the association would continue to contribute to the improvement of friendship and cooperation between the two sides and to the promotion of mutual benefit and common development.

Foreign envoys from such ASEAN countries such as Singapore, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia and Vietnam attended the reception.

Ambassador of Singapore Chin Siat Yoon spoke highly of the rapid and all-round development of ASEAN-China relations.

Source: Xinhua