Special report: China-ASEAN Summit

    NANNING, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong left here Tuesday after attending a commemorative summit marking the 15th anniversary of China-ASEAN dialogue relations and relevant activities.

    The summit opened Monday in Nanning, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and leaders of the ten ASEAN members attended the summit and signed a joint statement to boost China-ASEAN strategic partnership.

    Lee attended the opening ceremony of the third China-ASEAN Expo Tuesday morning along with other ASEAN leaders.

    Wen and Lee had a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the summit, during which Wen hopes that Singapore would play an active part in the economic cooperation with China's coastal and inland areas.

    In response, Lee said Singapore is willing to expand cooperation with China and participate actively in China's economic development.

    Lee also hoped to step up cooperation with China in the fight against pirates and better protect maritime security.

    Singapore is China's biggest trading partner among the 10 ASEAN members. The two countries' trade volume totaled 33.15 billion U. S. dollars in 2005.