China has called for deeper cooperation with ASEAN (Photo: linkedin.com)Beijing (VNA) – China has called for deeper cooperation with theAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to achieve mutual development asthe bloc is marking its 50th founding anniversary this year.
The call was made by Chinese Ambassador to ASEAN Xu Bu at the seminar “ASEAN at50: A New Chapter for ASEAN-China Relations” on July 14.
The ambassador said that ASEAN and China should seize the opportunities toelevate the relations to a new height. He said the two sides need to push win-wincooperation in connectivity, production capacity, trade promotion andinvestment as well as reap benefits from the upgraded protocol of China-ASEANFree Trade Area.
The two economies should combine their strengths and potential to carry outthose efforts, aiming at supporting China’s Belt and Road Initiative and ASEANVision 2025 in the future, he added.
China is ready to promote and support the growth of sub-regional frameworkssuch as the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation and the East ASEAN Growth Area to helpnarrow the development gap in the bloc and build the ASEAN Community, theChinese ambassador stressed.
He believed that the close relationship between ASEAN and China is aninseparable part of their strategic partnership.
At the seminar, ASEAN Deputy Secretary General for Community and CorporateAffairs AKP Mochtan said that enhancing contacts between communities of the twoeconomies is a good idea as it will create a good base for to synergise thegoals of the Belt and Road Initiative and ASEAN Vision 2025.
China is currently ASEAN’s largest trade partner while ASEAN is China’s thirdbiggest trade partner. Two-way trade in 2016 stood at 452.2 billion USD.-VNA
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