Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, delivers a keynote speech during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on Feb 18, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING — China is willing to work with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to build a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks while meeting with ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn in Beijing.

China is ready to work with ASEAN to make the China-ASEAN Expo a grand event for all-round and mutually beneficial cooperation

The meeting took place ahead of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, slated for Tuesday and Wednesday in Beijing.

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Wang noted that China has always taken ASEAN as a high priority in its neighborhood diplomacy, and will continue to be a strategic partner that ASEAN can trust and rely on.

China is ready to work with ASEAN to make the China-ASEAN Expo a grand event for all-round and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two sides, he said.

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Kao Kim Hourn said that over the past decade, ASEAN countries have benefited a lot from the Belt and Road Initiative and will continue to actively participate in the initiative.