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China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have pledged to further strengthen their mutual trust and all-round cooperation at a summit commemorating the 20th anniversary of their dialogue relations. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao also made a six-point proposal to achieve closer ties between China and ASEAN countries.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and state leaders of ten ASEAN member nations attended the 14th China-ASEAN summit held in Bali in Indonesia on Friday.
Addressing the summit, Premier Wen said China and ASEAN should be both confident and sober-minded, against great uncertainty and instability of the world economy.
He calls for the two sides to adhere to ASEAN centrality in promoting East Asia cooperation and upholding common interests in the multilateral field.
Premier Wen also made a six-point proposal for further cooperation.
Firstly,the two sides should fully implement all the agreements on China-ASEAN Free Trade Area and improve the Free Trade Area to promote two-way trade and investment.
Secondly, the two should establish a China-ASEAN committee on connectivity cooperation at an early date and speed up relevant infrastructure construction.
Thirdly, financial cooperation should be deepened by increasing cooperation between central banks, increasing access to each other's financial markets, and stepping up dialogue between regulatory authorities.The two sides should also increase local currency swaps and encourage the quoting of local currencies, fully enhance East Asia's ability to conduct financial crisis rescue and ensure regional financial stability.
Fourthly,China and ASEAN should expand practical maritime cooperation. China will establish a maritime cooperation fund and promote cooperation in research, environmental protection, navigation safety and combating transnational crimes.
Fifthly, the two sides should advance cooperation in science, technology and sustainable development.
And lastly, the two should work harder to promote cooperation in social areas to improve people's livelihoods. More exchanges should be conducted in education, disaster management, humanitarian assistance and healthcare.
ASEAN leaders welcomed Wen Jiabao's proposals and vowed to continue making close coordination with China, to deepen strategic trust and bring the substantial cooperation to a new high.
The two sides also issued a joint statement and established the China-ASEAN center aimed at strengthening mutual cooperation.