Backgrounder: Chronology of China-ASEAN summits

The 11th Summit between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China (10+1) was convened here Tuesday. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and leaders of the 10 ASEAN member countries attended the summit. The Chinese premier hailed the Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity between China and ASEAN, calling for expanding the China-ASEAN cooperation for mutual benefit and win-win progress.

The following is a chronology of China-ASEAN summits since 1997.

Dec. 16, 1997 -- China attended the First China-ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, capital of Malaysia. At the meeting, then Chinese President Jiang Zemin delivered a speech entitled "Establish Good-neighborly Partnership of Mutual Trust Oriented to the 21st Century." After the summit, the two sides issued the Joint Declaration of the People's Republic of China and ASEAN Summit, establishing guidelines for their relationship and common policies of good-neighborly partnership of mutual trust oriented to the 21st century.

Dec. 16, 1998 -- The then Chinese Vice President Hu Jintao attended the Second China-ASIAN Summit in Hanoi, capital of Vietnam. Leaders of the two sides agreed to maintain friendly exchanges between China and ASEAN countries in various fields, at different levels and through various channels within an all-around dialogue cooperation framework. They also reached consensus on appropriately dealing with differences to boost their partnership.

Nov. 28, 1999 -- The then Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji attended the Third China-ASEAN Summit in Manila, capital of the Philippines. He offered China's advice on strengthening the good-neighborly partnership of mutual trust with ASEAN in the 21st century. The ASEAN countries praised China's achievements in its development, and spoke highly of its support and assistance to them in the Asian financial crisis.

Nov. 25, 2000 -- The Fourth China-ASIAN Summit was held in Singapore. At the meeting, the then Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji spoke highly of the relationship between China and ASEAN, and offered advice on cooperation between the two sides in politics, human resource development, the construction of infrastructure projects on the Mekong River, advanced technology, agriculture, trade and investment.

Nov. 6, 2001 -- The then Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji attended the Fifth China-ASEAN Summit in Seri Begawan, capital of Brunei. The two sides agreed on the establishment of the China-ASEAN free trade zone over the following 10 years, and senior officials were authorized to begin negotiations on relevant agreements as soon as possible.

Nov. 4, 2002 -- At the Sixth China-ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, the then Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji and ASEAN leaders signed the Framework Agreement on China-ASEAN Comprehensive Economic Cooperation, deciding to establish the China-ASEAN free trade zone by 2010.

Oct. 8, 2003 -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao attended the Seventh China-ASEAN Summit in the Indonesian resort island of Bali. During the summit, ASEAN and China agreed to establish "a strategic partnership for peace and prosperity."

Nov. 29, 2004 -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao attended the Eighth China-ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, capital of the Laos. At the summit, Premier Wen delivered a speech on the appraisal of China-ASEAN cooperation, China's policy toward ASEAN countries, principles for cooperation and proposals for further cooperation.

Dec. 12, 2005 -- At the Ninth China-ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao put forward five initiatives to ensure more vigorous and fruitful growth of relations between China and ASEAN, including forging stronger bonds of friendship, putting in place a planned framework for relations, and vigorously promoting personnel exchanges.

Jan. 14, 2007 - At the 10th China-ASEAN Summit in Cebu in the central Philippines, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and leaders of the10 ASEAN member countries witnessed the signing of the Agreement on Trade in Services of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area.

Source:Xinhua