Li made the remarks while meeting his Singaporean counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong, on the sidelines of the East Asia leaders’ meetings in the Laotian capital of Vientiane.
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6 called the ASEAN Economic Community a “growth engine” for East Asia, pledging to further deepen cooperation with the 10-member bloc. The talks between the two leaders are likely to focus on terrorism, maritime security, disaster management, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).
Pointing to a steady increase in trade and investment between South Korea and ASEAN, Park highlighted the need for greater trade liberalization between the two sides to increase the benefits of open, free trade. China is involved in a raging dispute with the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei over ownership of territory in the SCS, a busy waterway through which India’s 50 per cent trade passes.
Modi is scheduled to have a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday afternoon.
The Chinese premier also said Beijing always regards ASEAN as a priority for regional diplomacy, noting that this year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of China-ASEAN relations.
ASEAN is a key partner for our Act East Policy, which is vital for the economic development of our Northeastern region.
India and ASEAN have 30 dialogue mechanisms which meet regularly, including a Summit and 7 Ministerial meetings in Foreign Affairs, Commerce, Tourism, Agriculture, Environment, Renewable Energy and Telecommunications.
Trade between India and ASEAN stood at United States dollars 65.04 billion in 2015-16 and comprises 10.12 per cent of India’s total trade with the world. India is a founding member of the East Asia Summit.
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Talking about the East Asia Summit, the Prime Minister said it is the premier forum for discussions on the challenges and opportunities before the Asia Pacific region.
