Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Thursday called for forging a closer community with a shared future for China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Qin made the remarks in his congratulatory letter to the Jakarta Forum on ASEAN-China Relations: Commemorating the 20th Anniversary of China's Accession to the Treaty of Amity And Cooperation in Southeast Asia.

Qin recalled that on October 8, 2003, China officially acceded to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), adding China is the first among major countries to join the TAC and to establish a strategic partnership with ASEAN.

"This is not only a milestone in China-ASEAN relations but also an event of great significance for the whole region," said Qin.

Noting China and ASEAN have successfully followed a path of good-neighborliness and common development over the past 20 years, the Chinese foreign minister said bilateral cooperation has become an example of most vibrant and productive cooperation in the Asia-Pacific, effectively promoting peace, stability, and prosperity in the region.

Qin called ASEAN one of the most successful regional cooperation organizations in the world, saying China firmly supports ASEAN unity and the ASEAN Community, and supports ASEAN centrality in the regional architecture.

He also said China will work with ASEAN to uphold the purposes and principles of the TAC, act on true multilateralism, and safeguard regional rules and order to preserve the hard-won peace and development in the region.

In November 2021, China and ASEAN took the lead in establishing a comprehensive strategic partnership. In his congratulatory message, Qin said that standing at a new historical starting point, China is ready to work with ASEAN to stay good neighbors who help each other, good friends who respect and trust each other, and good partners who pursue mutual benefit.

"Let us keep to the direction of good-neighborliness and cooperation, work together to build our common home, and forge a tighter China-ASEAN community with a shared future, with a view to creating a better future for Asia," Qin vowed.

(Cover: Assistant Chinese Foreign Minister Nong Rong reads Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang's congratulatory letter to the Jakarta Forum on ASEAN-China Relations: Commemorating the 20th Anniversary of China's Accession to the Treaty of Amity And Cooperation in Southeast Asia, in Jakarta, Indonesia, June 22, 2023. /Chinese Foreign Ministry)