NANNING, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Regional integration has become the call of the day for Asian development with economic globalization surging, Philippine House of Representatives speaker Prospero Nograles said here at the on-going China-ASEAN Expo.

    The Philippines was still trying to recover from the financial crisis, but it was certain that this problem could only be resolved through coordinated and concerted efforts from countries all over Asia and the world, Prospero said on the sideline of the 6th China-ASEAN Expo held from Oct. 20 to 24 in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

    ASEAN, or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a regional cooperation group founded in 1967. It groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, with a total area of 4.5 million square kilometers.

    Since the establishment of bilateral relations in 1975, China and the Philippines have concluded nearly 100 bilateral cooperation agreements covering various areas such as defense, air service, tourism, science and technology.

    Prospero said infrastructure and agriculture cooperation were relatively new areas and the Philippines would welcome such cooperation from China.

    "China's development in the last sixty years is a cause for celebration not only for China but also for its neighbors in the region which have benefited greatly from its remarkable economic growth," Prospero said.

    "A growing China is good for regional economic stability," he said.

Special Report:  Global Financial Crisis