DIPLOMACY

CONGRATULATIONS ASEAN@50

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (fifth left) links arms with ASEAN counterparts at the 10+1 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Aug. 6.

CHINESE PRESIDENT XI JINPING

sent a congratulatory message to Rodrigo Duterte, president of the Philippines, the rotating chair of ASEAN, on the 50th anniversary of the founding of ASEAN on Aug. 8.

"On this occasion of the 50th anniversary of the founding of ASEAN, I would like to, on behalf of the Chinese government and the Chinese people and in my own name, express warm congratulations to you, and through you, to the governments and peoples of the member states of ASEAN," Xi said in the message.

Since its establishment half a century ago, ASEAN has continued to develop, building itself into a prominent and stable community. It has played an important role in maintaining regional peace and stability, and has become a global representative force for multipolarity, Xi said.

China wishes ASEAN even greater achievements in the development and construction of its community, which in turn will make greater contribution to promoting regional peace, stability and prosperity, and bring more benefits to the peoples of all ASEAN member states, according to the Chinese president.

Since the dialogue relationship was established between them in 1991, China and ASEAN have adhered to the theme of cooperation and development, with mutual political trust always being strengthened, Xi said. Pragmatic cooperation has yielded fruitful results, he added.

The China-ASEAN relationship has become the most dynamic and profound among ASEAN's relationships with its dialogue partners, he added.

China is willing to continue sticking to the principles of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness, and take the 15th anniversary in 2018 of the establishment of the China-ASEAN strategic partnership as an opportunity to build a closer community of shared future together with ASEAN on the basis of what has been achieved so far, and with a focus on the future, in order to help it become a paradigm of communities of shared future in Asia, Xi said.