Content area
Full Text
China demonstrates sincerity in seeking cooperation at a series of summits in Vientiane
By Bai Shi | NO. 38 SEPTEMBER 22, 2016
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (ninth right) attends the 11th East Asia Summit in Vientiane, Laos, on September 8 (XINHUA)
After attending the G20 Hangzhou Summit in China, state leaders of East Asia and some other countries moved to Vientiane, the Laotian capital, for a series of annual summits convened by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), whose rotating presidency is held by Laos this year.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang attended three leaders' meetings with ASEAN at the center on September 7-9. The three meetings were the 19th ASEAN-China Summit, the 19th ASEAN Plus Three (China, Japan and South Korea) Summit, and the 11th East Asia Summit which U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev also attended.
At the annual ASEAN Summit, held in Vientiane on September 6, leaders of all 10 members engaged in a discussion with the theme Turning Vision into Reality for a Dynamic ASEAN Community.
The newly established ASEAN Community is designed to develop into a politically cohesive, economically integrated and people-centered regional bloc in Southeast Asia, according to the development blueprint, known as the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 inked by ASEAN members last November.
Anniversary year
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of ASEAN-China dialogue relations. Therefore, the 19th ASEAN-China Summit had special meaning for both sides. At the beginning of the meeting, Laotian Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith hosted a ceremony to commemorate the 25th anniversary of ASEAN-China dialogue relations in Vientiane on September 7.
During the ceremony, Premier Li and ASEAN leaders watched a short film chronicling China's growing relations with ASEAN over the last 25 years and looking at their possible cooperation in the future. Singapore is the coordinator of China-ASEAN relations. Its Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong joined Li and Sisoulith to cut a commemorative cake.
In his remarks at the ceremony, Premier Li said, "The past 25 years have seen growing mutual trust and pragmatic achievements made between China and ASEAN."
The Chinese premier pledged to continue giving priority to developing relations with ASEAN. China will support the building of the ASEAN Community, ASEAN's central role in...