Chinese Foreign Minister meets ASEAN diplomatic envoys

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday met with diplomatic envoys of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries in Beijing.

Wang said that since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese President Xi Jinping has maintained close communication and mutual support with ASEAN leaders to further consolidate bilateral cooperation, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Wang said China will continue to provide vaccine support to ASEAN countries until the pandemic is completely defeated, and China is ready to work with ASEAN countries to focus on development and make positive contributions to this end.

He added that China and ASEAN countries have always placed the South China Sea issue in an appropriate position in bilateral relations and promoted the deepening and development of bilateral cooperation.

The Chinese Foreign Minister expressed the hope that the two sides will take this opportunity to advance consultations on a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea on the basis of the comprehensive and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct.

The diplomatic envoys of ASEAN countries in China congratulated on the success of the sixth plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Xinhua reported.

They also expressed their hope to work with China to jointly hold a successful summit commemorating the 30th anniversary of the dialogue relations, seize opportunities and cooperate to meet challenges.

The two sides will soon jointly hold a summit commemorating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of dialogue relations between China and ASEAN countries.

( With inputs from ANI )