Beijing holds summit with diplomats from Southeast Asian nations

ANKARA

China’s chief foreign advisor Wang Yi held a summit on Thursday with foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Indonesia and discussed cooperation between Beijing and member countries.

“The meeting reviewed the progress of ASEAN-China cooperation and discussed its future direction, particularly the ways to advance the ASEAN-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership through the implementation of the Plan of Action 2021-2025 and its Annex,” said in a statement issued by the ASEAN secretariat.

“The meeting also exchanged views on regional and international issues of common interest and concern,” it added.

Wang, who served as foreign minister for nearly a decade before being appointed director of the Communist Party’s Central Committee Foreign Affairs Commission in January, arrived in Indonesia's capital Jakarta to attend a series of meetings on the sideline of the ASEAN summit.

China and ASEAN should speed up their negotiations on the Free Trade Area (FTA) to enhance trade between Beijing and ASEAN member countries, Wang said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the meeting, Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi welcomed Wang to Jakarta and said Beijing had been a critical partner of ASEAN over the last three decades.

“Economically, we are each other’s largest trading partner with total trade of $975 billion,” said Marsudi, according to a transcript released by the Foreign Ministry.

“China is the 4th largest source of FDI for ASEAN, valued at $13.8 billion in 2021,” she added.

Indonesia, the current chair of ASEAN, hosted the bloc’s top diplomats for the 56th regular meeting.

According to media reports, Wang is also expected to meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jakarta.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi will meet with his ASEAN counterpart in Jakarta to discuss the special summit commemorating their 50 years of friendship later this year in Tokyo, said a Japanese government official as cited by Tokyo-based Kyodo News.

He is expected to discuss the situation in the East and South China Seas, including North Korean missiles and nuclear activities, and meet with his South Korean counterpart in Jakarta.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid