BEIJING, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- The cooperation between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is set to further expand with the expected establishment of the China-ASEAN center in Beijing, a senior scholar at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said in an interview with Xinhua.

Leaders pose for photos for the 4th East Asia Summit (EAS) in the southern Thai resort town of Hua Hin, Oct. 25, 2009. The 4th East Asia Summit (EAS) opened here on Sunday, where ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) leaders and their counterparts from China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, and New Zealand met to discuss regional cooperation topics. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei) Photo Gallery>>>

    Wang Yuzhu, director of regional cooperation studies at the academy's Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, said the signing of a memorandum of understanding between China and ASEAN at the Thai beach resort of Hua Hin on Sunday on the establishment of the center marked yet another significant step in the expansion of bilateral ties.

    China and the ASEAN have been "good neighbors" and the relations between the two have been "successful," Wang said.

    "Both sides have been taking initiatives to expand the scope of bilateral cooperation and trying to maximize the benefits from cooperation," he said.

    China initiated dialogues relations with the ASEAN in the early1990s after the end of the Cold War. Bilateral cooperation has since been expanding fast.

    "The first step came out of political needs," Wang said.

    Economic and trade ties soon took over as the principal driving force behind the bilateral ties. The financial crisis in 1997, in particular, accelerated the expansion. China, Japan and South Korea agreed to establish the ASEAN Plus Three dialogue mechanism in 1997, followed by the birth of the ASEAN-China dialogue mechanism.

    "On one hand, the ASEAN economies saw the need for expanding cooperation with its Asian neighbors. On the other hand, China earned credit by holding the Renminbi stable during the crisis. Both helped further cooperation in the region," Wang said.

    Bilateral trade expanded to a total worth of 231.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2008, compared with 105.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2004 and 19.5 billion U.S. dollars in 1995.

    China and ASEAN struck a landmark deal in 2002, agreeing to establish a China-ASEAN free trade area by 2010. Trade agreements covering goods, services and investment were signed after that, and tariffs were cut.

    The China-ASEAN free trade area covered a population of 1.9 billion and a combined gross domestic product close to 6 trillion U.S. dollars. It is the first free trade area between China and a foreign counterpart, and the world's FTA of developing economies.

    China also cooperated with ASEAN in fields beyond economy and trade, including drug control, disease control, environment protection and disaster management.

    "It has been proved that a stable ASEAN is in the interest of China. China has always respected ASEAN and the bloc's leadership in East Asia," Wang said.

    "I think it is of great importance to both parties to further expand China-ASEAN ties. We should definitely strive to take it further forward," he added.