ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh visits China
Secretary General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Le Luong Minh paid an official visit to China from October 16-19 at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
At a press conference on October 16, Secretary General Le Luong Minh emphasized that China is one of ASEAN's most important partners, and the ASEAN-China partnership is one of the most dynamic and fastest growing partnerships. China is currently ASEAN's largest trading partner and a major source of direct investment for ASEAN. The bilateral partnership is developing rapidly in all areas.
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| ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh. (Source: AFP) |
At the recent ASEAN-China Summit held in Brunei, the leaders agreed to further strengthen the strategic partnership, with many specific directions and important goals being set, affirming the high determination of both sides in promoting ASEAN-China relations in depth and substance.
In terms of economy and trade, China and ASEAN strive to increase two-way trade to 500 billion USD by 2015, and 1,000 billion USD by 2020, with direct investment reaching 150 billion USD. In terms of education, China pledges to provide 15,000 scholarships to ASEAN countries.
The two sides also proposed to hold an ASEAN-China Defense Ministers’ Meeting in the near future to promote close cooperation in the defense field. In addition, the two sides decided to choose 2014 as the ASEAN-China Cultural Exchange Year./.
According to (TTXVN) - DT
