China, ASEAN to upgrade partnership in ＂diamond decade＂

ChinesePremierLiKeqiangsaidhereThursdaythatChinaandSoutheastAsiancountrieswillupgradetheirpartnershipintheupcoming"diamonddecade,"whichwouldbringmorebenefitstotheirpeoplesandmakefurthercontributiontoregionalandworldpeaceanddevelopment.

LiandPresidentUTheinSeinofMyanmar,whichholdstherotatingchairoftheAssociationofSoutheastAsianNations(ASEAN)thisyear,presidedoverthe17thChina-ASEANleaders'meeting,duringwhichtheparticipatingpartiesdiscussedthecooperationbetweenthetwosidesandreachedawiderangeofconsensus.

LisaidtheChina-ASEANfriendlycooperationhasmaintainedsustainedandstabledevelopment,whichisagoodexampleofregionalcooperationinEastAsia.ThestrategicpartnershipbetweenChinaandtheASEANhasenteredanewhistoricalstagewhichprovidesmoretreasuredopportunitiesfortheircomprehensivecooperation.

TheChinesegovernmentalwaysplacestheChina-ASEANrelationshipasapriorityinitsneighborhooddiplomacy,Lisaid,addingthatChinawillfirmlysupportthebuildingoftheASEANcommunityandsupporttheASEAN'sleadingroleinEastAsiancooperation.

ChinaiswillingtoexpandpragmaticcooperationwithASEANcountriesinvariousfields,continuouslydeepenintegrationofinterestsofbothsides,andforgeacloserChina-ASEANcommunitywithacommondestiny,thepremiersaid,makeasix-pointproposaltoachievethegoal.

Firstly,LisaidChinaiswillingtooutlinethegrandstrategyforfurtherdevelopingChina-ASEANrelations,speedupthedraftingofthethirdPlanofActiontoimplementthejointdeclarationontheChina-ASEANStrategicPartnershipforPeaceandProsperity(2016-2020),andactivelynegotiateforagood-neighborlycooperationtreatybetweenChinaandASEANcountries.

Secondly,ChinaisgoingtoworktogetherwithASEANtoupgradetheChina-ASEANfreetradezoneandcompletetherelatednegotiationbeforetheendof2015,Lisaid.

TheChinesesideiswillingtoadoptamoreopenattitudetodiscusswiththeASEANtheinvestmentagreementnegotiationsbasedonthepre-establishmentnationaltreatmentplusnegativelistmanagementmode,aswellastopushforwardtheconstructionofcross-bordereconomiccooperationzonesandindustrialparks.

Thirdly,Liproposedtoacceleratethebuildingofbasicconnectivitynetwork.Besidespromotinglandandmaritimeconnection,Chinawillprovidefinancesupporttostrengthenplanningandbuildingoftelecommunication,electricpowerandInternetsectors,aswellasimproveconvenienceofcustomsclearance,marketsupervisionandstandardizationandregulation.

Fourthly,LiunderlinedmaritimecooperationbetweenChinaandASEAN.WithnextyearbeingtheYearofMaritimeCooperationbetweenChinaandASEAN,thetwosidesshouldtakethisopportunitytostrengthenthedialoguebetweentheirmaritimelawenforcementorgans,setupamaritimecooperationcenter,wellimplementthepan-BeibuGulfeconomiccooperationroadmapandtheprojectsundertheChina-ASEANMaritimeCooperationFund,henoted.

Fifthly,LisaidChinawillworkwithASEANtoensurebothtraditionalsecurityandnon-traditionalsecurity,wellpreparefortheChina-ASEANdefenseministersinformalmeetingnextyear,explorepossibilitiesofbuildingaChina-ASEANdefensehotline,conductjointexercises,deepenthelawenforcementcooperationintheMekongRiverBasin,andcarryoutcooperationprojectsfordisastermanagement.

Lastly,LialsosaidChinawillactivelyexplorenewareasofcooperationinculture,people-to-peopleexchange,scienceandtechnologyandenvironment,speeduptheChina-ASEANculturalcooperationactionplan,andstrengthencooperationineducation,ruralpovertyreduction,publichealthpersonneltraining,scientificresearchandenvironmentalprotection.

Buildingontheachievementsofthepast"golddecade"ofChina-ASEANpartnership,LisaidtherearemorefavorableconditionsforbothChinaandtheASEANtoupgradetheirrelationshipintheupcoming"diamonddecade."

TheASEANleaderswelcomedLi'sproposaltostrengthenChina-ASEANcooperation,sayingthatChina,asoneofthemostimportantpartnersofASEAN,hasmadepositivecontributiontoregionalpeace,development,stabilityandprosperity.ASEANbelievesarisingChinawouldbenefittheAsiaPacificandtheworld.

ThankingChinaforitssupport,theleaderssaidASEANiswillingtoincreasemutualpoliticaltrust,implementthe2+7cooperationframework,deepenpragmaticcooperation,expandtwo-waytradeandeconomiccooperationandinvestment,andfacilitateregionalinterconnectivitywithChina.

TheysaidASEANwillalsoactivelypushforwardagood-neighborlycooperationtreatywithChinaandfurtherupgradetheASEAN-Chinastrategicpartnership,inabidtosafeguardregionalpeace,stabilityanddevelopment.

LiarrivedhereWednesdaytoattendaseriesofleaders'meetingsonEastAsiacooperationandpayanofficialvisittoMyanmar.