Foreign Minister Li
Zhaoxing said in Kyoto Friday China is willing to contribute to
closer cooperation between the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN), China, Japan and South Korea.??
Li Zhaoxing made the remarks at an informal meeting of the
foreign ministers of the 10-member ASEAN plus China, Japan and
South Korea (10+3).
It is in the interest of all parties concerned to maintain the
cooperation momentum of the 10+3 mechanism, which has become one of
the most successful and vigorous mechanisms for regional
cooperation, said Li.
ASEAN, established in 1967, groups Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar
and Cambodia.
On the East Asia Summit (EAS), Li said the summit meeting is set
to contribute to cooperation between East Asian countries and
further development of the 10+3 mechanism.
China respects ASEAN's consensus on the summit and supports a
leading role by the regional grouping in deciding which countries
outside the framework can join the meeting, Li said.
ASEAN foreign ministers agreed last month in the Philippines
that the first meeting of East Asia Summit will be held in Kuala
Lumpur at the end of this year among countries that can maintain
close dialogue with ASEAN, agree to accede to the Treaty of Amity
and Cooperation, and have substantive relationships with ASEAN in
politics, economics, culture and other fields.
At the meeting, the foreign ministers also exchanged views on UN
reform and the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula before joining
their European counterparts for the Seventh Asia-Europe Meeting
(ASEM) for Foreign Ministers, which opened here Friday evening.
(Xinhua News Agency May 7, 2005)