China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should join hands and work closely together to promote new progress in bilateral ties, Chinese Ambassador to ASEAN Xu Bu said on Friday.
Major efforts should be made to enhance political and security mutual trust and strategic communication between the two sides, the ambassador said in an interview with Xinhua.
Xu said while the two sides still vary in certain ways due to different social system, religion, culture and development level, there are voices intentionally hyping up disputes instead of narrowing differences, which have hindered the building of mutual trust.
China is willing to continue negotiation with ASEAN on the signing of a treaty of good-neighborliness, friendship and cooperation between China and ASEAN members to consolidate friendship and mutual trust, he told Xinhua.
China would also continue to work with ASEAN nations on the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), and actively push forward consultations of a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC), so as to manage differences and promote pragmatic cooperation to jointly protect peace and stability in the South China Sea and the region, he said.
The ambassador said he expects more breakthroughs in the cooperation between the two sides, especially in the improvement of trade structure and investment quality.
China and ASEAN have great cooperation potential in such fields as production capacity, employment, environmental protection and energy, the ambassador said.
The next five years are a rare development opportunity for both China and ASEAN, and the two sides should strengthen coordination of development strategies, which are highly complementary to each other, as a boost to overall cooperation, Xu said.
The ambassador especially noted that more should be done to tap the potential in production capacity cooperation between the two sides, which is in line with development demands of ASEAN members.
Meanwhile, cooperations at sub-regional level, like the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Framework, should play a larger role in the future, as they could effectively support the overall cooperation between China and ASEAN, Xu added.
The ambassador also called for more social and cultural exchanges, especially among the youths. Education, tourism and culture could serve as a new pillar of the China-ASEAN relations, he said.
