Manila (VNA) – China has proposed the formulation of a vision forstrategic partnership between China and the Association of Southeast AsianNations (ASEAN) toward 2030 to upgrade cooperation.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang made the proposal at the 20th ASEAN-ChinaSummit in Manila, the Philippines, on November 13, within the framework of the31st ASEAN Summit and related summits.

China and ASEAN will cooperate in various fields focusing on three pillars,namely politics-security, economy and trade, and people-to-people exchanges.

Li also proposed the alignment of the Belt and Road Initiative with the MasterPlan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 to deepen China-ASEAN cooperation in such areasas trade, finance, infrastructure, rules and regulations, and personnel.

He called on China and ASEAN to conduct closer high-level exchanges, strengthenpolicy dialogue, and deepen political security cooperation to advance mutualunderstanding and trust.

He urged all ASEAN nations to ratify the upgraded China-ASEAN free trade agreementas soon as possible so as to bring benefits to both sides at an early date.

Advances should be made in Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)negotiations, implementation of key international industrial capacitycooperation projects, financial cooperation between China and ASEAN, he added.

Li said China will provide government scholarships to more than 20,000 ASEANstudents in the next three years, offer training courses to 3,000 candidatesfrom ASEAN in 2018, and boost cooperation in capacity building in the fields offinance, agriculture, science and technology, culture, public administrationand transportation.

Established in 1967, ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.-VNA