10th anniversary of China-ASEAN strategic partnership marked

A reception was held in Jakarta on Monday evening to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the establishment of strategic partnership between China and ASEAN.

Chinese ambassador to ASEAN Yang Xiuping and ASEAN Secretary- General Le Luong Minh addressed the reception, pledging to further strengthen the bilateral relations.

Yang said that China and ASEAN have witnessed cooperation in the past 10 years and Chinese government has prioritized ASEAN in China's neighboring diplomacy for the next decade.

China and ASEAN signed the Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in 2003. Currently, China is the top trading partner of ASEAN, while ASEAN ranks as China's third-largest trading partner.

Two-way trade has increased more than sixfold over the last ten years to over 400 billion US dollars in 2012, while mutual investment totaled over 100 billion dollars, three times that of ten years ago.

Minh said in his remarks that ASEAN-China strategic partnership established 10 years ago has not only benefited the two sides, but also contributed to peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

ASEAN appreciates China's support to its community-building efforts and the central role of ASEAN in regional mechanisms, the secretary-general added.

Some 700 people, including ambassadors and diplomats to ASEAN, Indonesian officials, business people and representatives of local Chinese communities attended the reception.