Chinese FM vows to foster frienship,partnership with ASEAN neighbors

PHNOM PENH, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Yang reaffirmed China's commitment to the path of peaceful development and its foreign policy of fostering friendship and partnership with its neighbors at the ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers'Meeting held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

He stressed that given the continuing profound impact of the international financial crisis, China and ASEAN have common interests and responsibilities in upholding regional peace and stability and maintaining the growth momentum of Asia.

He urged the two sides to view and deal with their relations with a strategic and long-term perspective, step up strategic communication, and further advance practical cooperation to achieve win-win results.

Minister Yang also made proposals on enhancing China-ASEAN cooperation in economic, trade, connectivity, maritime cooperation, social, cultural and people-to-people exchanges. He expressed China's readiness to adjust cooperation priorities in the light of actual needs of ASEAN community building.

ASEAN countries commended China's contribution to Asia's development and world economic recovery and expressed appreciation of China's long-standing support to ASEAN community building and ASEAN's major role in East Asia cooperation.

They welcomed China's intention to open a permanent mission to ASEAN in Jakarta and agreed with Minister Yang's proposals for closer China-ASEAN cooperation and expressed their readiness to work with China to push their cooperation forward.

Participants at the meeting spoke highly of the positive results of China-ASEAN dialogue relations over the past 20 years and more. They agreed to further enhance good-neighborly relations and mutual trust, deepen practical cooperation and maintain the sound momentum of all-round development of the China-ASEAN strategic partnership.