PM: China to further expand social, cultural, people-to-people exchanges with ASEAN

China will further expand social, cultural and people-to-people exchanges with member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said in a speech at the 11th China-ASEAN Summit here on Tuesday.

"China will continue to launch exchange projects including inviting ASEAN young people to visit China and hosting youth camps, summer camps and young entrepreneurs forum. We will make full use of the China-ASEAN Youth Training Base in Guangxi to increase mutual understanding and friendship between young people of the two sides," Wen said in the speech.

"China will continue to strengthen sport and cultural exchanges with ASEAN and will host the China-ASEAN Cultural Industry Forum next year. We propose that the two sides formulate the China-ASEAN Cultural Industry Interaction Program. We warmly welcome ASEAN countries to participate in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and wish you every success," he added.

"To enhance China-ASEAN media cooperation is of great importance to increasing mutual understanding between our peoples,strengthening traditional friendship and expanding mutually beneficial cooperation," said the premier, adding that China is ready to sign and implement with ASEAN the Memorandum of Understanding on Information and Media Cooperation at an early date and make plan for work in this area.

"Next year, China will host the China-ASEAN Broadcasting and Television Forum and continue to provide training for ASEAN journalists," he said.

China and ASEAN member states are each other's important tourist destinations and sources of tourists. To promote exchanges and cooperation between tourism authorities, China will sponsor special training courses for ASEAN government tourism departments to help ASEAN learn more about China's outbound travel market, the prime minister added.

Wen arrived here on Sunday for an official visit to Singapore. During his stay here, he will also attend the 11th ASEAN plus Three summit, the 11th China-ASEAN summit, the third East Asia summit and the eighth meeting of leaders of China, Japan and South Korea.

As a regional cooperation group founded in August 1967, ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Source: Xinhua