FRUITS YIELDED IN CHINA-ASEAN COOPERATION
This year marks the 12th anniversary of the establishment of the strategic partnership between China and ASEAN.
China-ASEAN relations have maintained a strong momentum that is evident in close high-level exchanges, deeper political trust, fruitful economic cooperation and wider people-to-people contact, Xu told Xinhua.
Xi's successful state visits to Vietnam and Singapore on Nov. 5-7 have highlighted the increased political trust, he said.
Premier Li's just-concluded trip to Malaysia also boosted Beijing's ties with ASEAN nations.
Cooperation between China and ASEAN has become closer in regional affairs, which has greatly promoted regional peace, stability and development, Xu said.
On economy and trade, China has become ASEAN's largest trade partner for six consecutive years while ASEAN, China's third largest trade partner for four years in a row.
Bilateral trade between China and ASEAN has exceeded 480 billion U.S. dollars and two-way investment topped 120 billion dollars last year, Xu said.
Through joint efforts, negotiations on upgrading the China-ASEAN free trade zone and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership are going smoothly.
Bilateral cooperation on interconnectivity and production capacity has been upgraded to a higher level, with new breakthroughs obtained in projects such as the high-speed railway between Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta and Bandung as well as the China-Laos and China-Thailand railways.
China Railway Corporation and four Indonesian firms have agreed to set up a joint venture to build a high-speed railway linking Jakarta and Bandung. The project is expected to start this month and take three years to complete.
On Nov. 13, the Chinese and Laotian governments signed an agreement on the construction of a cross-border railway. The railroad will stretch 418 km to link the two countries' border area, Mohan and Boten ports, and Lao's capital Vientiane.
In late 2014, China and Thailand signed a memorandum of understanding on railway cooperation, under which dual-track rail lines will be built to connect Thailand's northeast Nong Khai province, the capital of Bangkok and the eastern Rayong province. The railway will also be a section of the planned railway running through southern China, Laos and Thailand.
Furthermore, on Nov. 12, senior foreign affairs officials from China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam agreed on the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) framework at the first LMC foreign ministers' meeting in Jinghong, southwest China's Yunnan Province.
The sub-region cooperation mechanism has been complementary to other cooperation mechanisms, promoted ASEAN community construction and regional integration, as well as added new content into the China-ASEAN cooperation, Xu said.
