CEBU, Philippines, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said here on
Sunday that China and ASEAN countries should strengthen and enrich their strategic
partnership and upgrade cooperation, proposing to set up by China a number
of economic and trade zones in ASEAN countries.
Addressing the leaders of 10 ASEAN countries at the 10th ASEAN-China Summit
held in the central Philippine resort city, Wen said China and ASEAN should
strengthen political mutual trust, bring China-ASEAN economic relations and
trade to a new level and carry out cooperation in nontraditional security
fields.
Wen said China supports ASEAN community building and integration and is
willing to expand social, cultural and people-to-people exchanges with ASEAN
countries. He said China welcomes more ASEAN businesses to China and encourages
established Chinese companies to invest in ASEAN countries.
He said that on the basis of mutual benefit, China will favorably consider
setting up in ASEAN countries a number of economic and trade zones which have
sound infrastructure and complete industrial chains.
"I hope this will bring the China-ASEAN win-win cooperation and common
development to a higher level," he said.
Wen said China will also enhance cooperation with ASEAN in combating
transnational crimes, maritime security, disaster reduction and relief,
prevention and control of communicable diseases and environmental protection.
He said China proposes environmental cooperation be incorporated into the
overall China-ASEAN cooperation framework and establish a bilateral regular
information sharing system on communicable diseases and public health
emergencies.
Wen also invited ASEAN countries to take part in training courses on
reconstruction and management of disaster-hit areas to be held in May this year,
saying China will host this year a China-ASEAN symposium on prevention and
control of human infection with highly pathogenic avian influenza, and will help
train 20 professionals in this field for ASEAN countries.
Wen said China has also delivered 1 million U.S. dollars it pledged to the
ASEAN Development Fund, will train 8,000 professionals in various fields for
ASEAN in five years, and will run a number of agro-technology training programs
and workshops for ASEAN countries this year.
In order to enhance exchanges and cooperation among young people of China and ASEAN countries, China will invite 300 youths from ASEAN countries to visit the country and set up a China-ASEAN Youth Campus in southern Chinese province of Guangxi. To promote China-ASEAN media exchanges, China will host the third China-ASEAN High-Level Seminar on Media Cooperation this year, he said.