China and ASEAN nations have been working on deepening their relationship over the past years. Trade volume reached over $700 billion in the first three quarters of this year, up by nearly 14 percent year on year. Rong Ying, vice president of the China Institute of International Studies, says that China has been a supporter of ASEAN over the last 25 years and will continue to support ASEAN+3 as it now stands at a crucial point facing geopolitical challenges.