China will further enhance cooperation with the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) through a free-trade pact and joint
Mekong River Basin projects, Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan
told a ministerial meeting in the Brunei capital Thursday.
"We should keep developing the momentum of China-ASEAN ties and
further expand and deepen our cooperation to better cope with the
changed situation," Tang said at the annual ASEAN-China ministerial
meeting in Bandar Seri Begawan.
He
said the two sides should launch comprehensive negotiations on a
common free-trade area to promote economic integration.
Negotiations between China and ASEAN on forming a free-trade area
began at a working level in May this year. The third round of
negotiations is currently under way in Thailand.
Tang said the planned free-trade scheme could serve as a role model
for promoting cooperation in East Asia. He said this made it
imperative that the two sides give it their full support to ensure
the smooth launch of the process.
The two sides also need to push forward the Mekong River Basin
development project, which is a key area of China-ASEAN cooperation
for the 21st century, he said.
Moreover, the minister said, China and ASEAN should cooperate more
on security issues such as counter-terrorism and the fight against
drugs.
The two sides established a cooperation mechanism on fighting
illegal drugs in October 2000.
"The Chinese side is ready to cooperate with ASEAN in a concrete
way to combat transnational crime on the basis of the statements
and agreements reached with them," he said.
Cooperation should also be expanded in other areas such as
agriculture, information technology, transportation and tourism,
Tang said.
In
a position paper distributed in the Brunei capital Thursday, China
proposed a new security concept with mutual trust, mutual benefit,
quality and co-ordination at its core.
The concept was outlined in a document issued to ASEAN members and
a dozen other countries by the China delegation to the ASEAN
Regional Forum.
The document said that China is vigorously seeking to settle
disputes with its neighbors through peaceful negotiations. It said
China has agreed on the land borders with most of its neighboring
countries. Disputes over territory, on land and at sea, are no
longer an obstacle to China and its neighbors cooperating, being
good neighbors and building regional security together.
China sees economic exchange and interaction as an important avenue
to lasting security in its area, the document said.
China believes that the key guarantee for Asian-Pacific security
lies in a regional security framework featuring dialogue instead of
confrontation, the document said. To this end, China has placed
great importance on and taken an active part in the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization and the ASEAN Regional Forum.
(China
Daily August 2, 2002）