Chinese Ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)Xu Bu presented his credential to ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minhat the ASEAN Secretariat headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia, on June18.

The General Secretary congratulated the ambassador on his newduty and affirmed that ASEAN and China are committed to strengtheningand deepening the Strategic Partnership as reflected in the JointStatement of the 16th ASEAN-China Summit, which was adopted on theoccasion of the 10th Anniversary of ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership inOctober 2013. He stressed that this commitment was renewed by theLeaders at the 17th ASEAN-China Summit in November 2014.

Minh highlighted that ASEAN has benefitted from China's support to itsCommunity building efforts. He underscored that to continue theCommunity building efforts and sustain the progress that has beenachieved, ASEAN needs a conducive environment of peace and stability. Inthis regard, ASEAN looks forward to continue promoting its cooperationwith China by restoring and strengthening confidence and trust tofurther deepen the ties.

Ambassador Xu looked forward to workingclosely with ASEAN member states and the ASEAN Secretariat to furtherstrengthen the ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership.

He stated thatsince its establishment 48 years ago, ASEAN has been able to bringabout peace and stability to the region and prosperity to its people.

Heunderscored that China attaches great importance to the development ofASEAN-China Strategic Partnership and considers ASEAN as a priority inits neighborhood diplomacy and that the Partnership has become a majorpillar for the maintenance of regional peace and stability in theregion.

Ambassador Xu is the second resident Ambassador of Chinaaccredited to ASEAN since China established its mission to ASEAN in 2012.-VNA