Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao attended the Seventh China-ASEAN Summit held in Bali, Indonesia on Oct.8.
 
Wen delivered a speech titled "Promoting Peace and Prosperity by Deepening Cooperation in an All-round Way" at the meeting.

He said China-ASEAN relations have been upgraded continuously over the past 6 years, forming an encouraging pattern of political mutual respect, economic mutual complementarity and mutual trust in the area of security.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Wen said, "China's accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) is yet another testimony to our deeper political trust and higher level of cooperation." ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

"China and ASEAN has announced the establishment of strategic partnership for peace and prosperity. This is not only a sum-up of our past progress, but a crucial guidance for the development of China-ASEAN relations in the future," he said.

The document is an important milestone, marking the beginning of a new stage in the relations between China and ASEAN, he said.

He said that under the new situation, "our cooperation should be broader, deeper and more performance-oriented and deliver more benefits to the people. Our cooperation should feature a wider regional and global perspective, helping the rest of Asia in terms of coping with new challenges.

"To this end, the Chinese Government wishes to work for stronger and deeper mutually beneficial cooperation with ASEAN, in the following areas":

First, strengthening political dialogue to enhance mutual trust. China has always attached importance to its political relations with ASEAN. There should be more high-level exchanges in the future to deepen the mutual understanding and friendship between the leaders of the two sides. Dialogue and consultation mechanisms at the different levels should be brought into fuller and more effective play.

China's accession to TAC has brought China-ASEAN relations into a new stage of development, and given them a fresh start. They should build on this and continue to consolidate the political and legal basis of bilateral ties.

Second, deepening economic and trade ties to accelerate common development. To further expand trade, Wen wished to call for the two sides' joint efforts to break the 100 billion US dollar mark by year 2005.

China is ready to work closely with ASEAN to speed up the negotiations and complete the CAFTA as scheduled. The two sides should deepen bilateral cooperation in finance, service, investment, agriculture and IT industry. To facilitate cooperation between the business sectors from the two sides, China suggests that China-ASEAN Expo be held annually in Nanning, the capital city of China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, starting in next year.

Third, stepping up cooperation in security to keep the region stable. China is willing to join ASEAN in implementing the Joint Declaration of China and ASEAN on Cooperation in the Field of Non-traditional Security Issues, and implementing various measures set forth in the declaration.

Fourth, promoting scientific and technological exchanges to complement each other with respective advantages.

China is ready to go for vigorous cooperation with ASEAN in such areas as information technology, bio-technology, remote sensing technology and application, seismology, marine sciences and research of tropical life resources.

Fifth, widening the all-round cooperation to serve the people on both sides.

The Chinese side supports the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) and will increase the resources put into the development of the Mekong Basin. China will commence the contracted construction of the Laotian section of Kunming-Bangkok Highway early next year, and provide financial assistance for the feasibility study of the missing link of the Pan-Asia Railway inside Cambodia. China attaches importance to cooperating with the East ASEAN Growth Area and will continue to expand bilateral cooperation on human resources development.

The two sides should further exploration of new frontiers of cooperation, deepen bilateral cooperation in public health, and increase cooperation in culture and education.

China will launch the China-ASEAN Association and proposes a mechanism of a China-ASEAN Youth Ministers' Meeting, support activities by business chambers of the two sides, and will seriously consider holding a China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit.

Sixth, enhancing coordination to bring about a stable environment.

China will join ASEAN in accelerating East Asia cooperation and regional economic integration with the 10+3 mechanism as the principal channel.