China remains committed to supporting and participating in East Asia cooperation and to pursuing a policy of building good-neighborly relationships and partnerships with its neighbors.

 

Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing made the pledge in Kuala Lumpur yesterday at the 10+3 Ministerial Meeting, also attended by his counterparts from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Japan and South Korea.

 

China will continue to work with all other countries concerned to deepen the 10+3 cooperation, which has improved the development environment in East Asia, enhanced the overall regional strength and delivered real benefits to all the countries concerned over the past years, Li said.

 

The Chinese side supports the 10+3 as the main channel for building the East Asia Community, to be completed by the East Asia Summit and other mechanisms, he said.

 

Li arrived here Tuesday to attend the Ministerial Meeting between ASEAN, China, Japan and South Korea (10+3), ASEAN Post Ministerial Conferences (PMC) and the 13th ASEAN Regional Forum on July 26-28.

 

The Chinese side will actively support and participate in new 10+3 cooperation areas such as women affairs, poverty alleviation and rural development, disaster reduction and relief and development of mineral resources, Li said.

 

ASEAN, established in 1967, now groups Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.

 

The year 2007 will mark the 10th anniversary of the 10+3 cooperation.

 

(Xinhua News Agency July 27, 2006)