Relations between China and countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have entered a new stage of all-round development, Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng said Saturday.

Han, also member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the 16th China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

ASEAN a key area in Belt and Road construction

Stressing that ASEAN is a key area in Belt and Road construction, Han said China is willing to work with ASEAN countries to pursue a higher level strategic partnership and build a closer community with a shared future.

China is ready to work with ASEAN to construct the Belt and Road and implement the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 under the guidance of the China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership Vision 2030, Han said.

While stepping up efforts to implement the protocol on upgrading the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, China will join hands with relevant parties to complete the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, according to the vice premier.

With platforms such as the China International Import Expo and the China-ASEAN Expo injecting strong momentum into common development, China will cooperate with ASEAN in building economic and trade cooperation zones and the China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor.

In addition, efforts will be made to boost the connectivity of infrastructures and deepen innovation cooperation in spheres such as e-commerce, digital trade and 5G internet, Han said.

China and the world inseparable

"China's development conforms to the development trajectory of history while win-win cooperation accords with the will of the people," Han said, adding the country firmly believes that China and the world depend on and interrelate with each other, with everything to gain from cooperation. 

As the world's second largest economy and largest trader in goods, China has contributed more than 30 percent to world economic growth for numerous years, noted Han. 

The vice premier then added China is willing to better interact with the world while taking its own path and handling its own affairs, so as to strive for advancement with other countries. 

ASEAN overtook the U.S. as China's second largest trading partner last year, with the total trade volume between China and ASEAN countries hitting a record high of 587.87 billion U.S. dollars, up 14.1 percent from the previous year. By the end of 2018, China had been ASEAN's largest trading partner for nine years in a row.

(With input from Xinhua News Agency; cover: A view of China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. /VCG Photo)