China and ASEAN pledge to advance their strategic partnership,
which would be a catalyst for dialogue relations between ASEAN and
its dialogue partners, says a joint statement issued onMonday.
The joint statement, entitled "Towards An Enhanced China-ASEAN
Strategic Partnership," was inked by China and ASEAN countries
following a China-ASEAN summit commemorating the 15th anniversary
of the establishment of China-ASEAN dialogue.
China and ASEAN believe that the achievements made in the past
15 years in their dialogue relations have been the result of
adherence to the principles enshrined in important international
treaties, including the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, the Five
Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, the Ten Principles of the
Bandung Asian-African Conference, the purposes and principles of
the UN Charter, said the statement.
China and ASEAN will continue to be "fully guided by these
principles", according to the statement.
China and ASEAN agree to further enhance mutual trust and
understanding, and match the depth and breadth of cooperation with
the objective of China-ASEAN strategic partnership, it says.
The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to effectively
implement relevant documents, and pledge to deepen collaboration in
the ten priority areas, according to the statement.
According to the statement, ASEAN leaders highly appreciated
China's continued commitment to support ASEAN's community building
efforts. ASEAN welcomed China's contribution of US$1 million to the
ASEAN Development Fund and China's funding assistance of US$1
million for the projects of the Initiative for ASEAN Integration,
it says.
?The summit opened Monday afternoon in Nanning, capital of
South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Chinese Premier Wen
Jiabao and leaders of the ten ASEAN members attended the
summit.
(Xinhua News Agency October 31, 2006)