Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, whose country holds the rotating ASEAN chair, said Wednesday that ASEAN and China had established effective dialogue mechanisms and cooperative relations between the two sides were growing stronger. [Special coverage]
The 10-member bloc and China held the 19th ASEAN-China Summit in the Lao capital and commemorated the 25th anniversary of dialogue relations between the two sides.
Speaking at the summit, Thongloun said that in the past 25 years cooperation and exchanges between ASEAN and China have been increasing with mutual understanding continuously deepened.
On this basis, the two sides will further enhance people-to-people exchanges, he added.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and leaders from ASEAN members attended the summit. Li delivered a speech at the commemorative meeting.
China, as ASEAN's most active cooperation partner, is ASEAN's largest trading partner, while the regional bloc is China's third largest trading partner. Cooperation between China and ASEAN in the past 25 years has yielded significant achievements in various fields.
The ASEAN opened its 28th and 29th summits here on Tuesday. The summits and related leaders' meetings that run from Tuesday through Thursday also include ASEAN+1 Summits, ASEAN+3 (China, Japan and South Korea) Summit, and the East Asia Summit.
