Premier Zhu Rongji made the remarks Thursday when meeting with Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, noting that China welcome the enterprises of Singapore and other ASEAN members to seek cooperation.

Zhu arrived in Singapore Thursday to attend the informal summits of ASEAN+3 (China, Japan and Republic of Korea) and ASEAN+1 (China), which will be held Friday and Saturday.

ASEAN consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.

Echoing Zhu's remarks, Goh said that he believed that China will develop faster after its entry to WTO, which will also bring more prospects for the cooperation with ASEAN.

Goh expressed ASEAN's wish to enhance the relations with China.

Highly appraised the positive role of ASEAN in the region, Zhu said that China attaches great importance to developing cooperative partnership with ASEAN.

He said that to deepen the development through cooperation is of the interests of all the countries in the region, adding that China supports the suggestion of establishing e-ASEAN and the plan to develop the Mekong Basin.

China appreciates the advice to promote the exchange of hi-tech professionals in the region, Zhu was quoted as saying by a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman.

China is willing to enhance cooperation with ASEAN in the frame of East Asia.

Goh said that ASEAN has shown signs of recovery after suffering the financial crisis in 1997, noting that it is necessary for the countries to further support each other in the principle of voluntary participation.

Today, the leaders from the 13 East Asian countries will gather here for the fourth informal summit of ASEAN+3, focusing on the prospect of the development in the East Asian nations and how to strengthen cooperation in the region.

Several topics will be touched upon, such as the establishment of free trade zone, the arrangement of currency swap, development in Mekong Basin and the cooperation in other fields.

The agreement of the ASEAN free trade area was designed to take effect from 2003, but a new protocol has been introduced giving breathing space to sectors having difficulties in meeting tariff-cut deadlines.

The arrangement of currency swap allows countries to collectively use their foreign exchange reserves to fight speculative attacks and prevent a contagion similar to 1997.

Chinese analysts believed that it is encouraging for the region and beyond, that the half billion people of the ten ASEAN countries are now joining hands with China, Japan and ROK.

Zhang Yunling, director of the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said that it is necessary for the East Asian countries to enhance the cooperation in the process of economic globalization.

"In order to achieve long-term and substantial development, the East Asia has to deepen relations not only in the economic field, but also in the areas of science, education, culture, and even security where mistrust still prevails," Zhang said.

(China Daily 11/23/2000)