China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Thursday agreed to consolidate and deepen their strategic partnership.

The pledge came out of a meeting between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and foreign ministers of ten ASEAN members as well as ASEAN Secretary-General Le Luong Minh, on the sidelines of the special China-ASEAN foreign ministers meeting to mark the 10th anniversary of the formation of the China-ASEAN strategic partnership.

Li lauded the development of China-ASEAN relations as promoting regional stability and prosperity. He said China steadily pursued the way of peaceful development, took the relationship with ASEAN as a priority in its regional diplomacy, and pursued the policy of good

Li said China will continue to consolidate the strategic partnership with ASEAN, support ASEAN's integration, and be glad to see ASEAN play a leading role in regional cooperation.

He noted that through friendly consultation, China and ASEAN countries will respect each other, increase mutual trust and handle disputes with to promote long-term friendship and win-win situations.

The premier stressed that economic development and improvement of people's livelihoods are the overriding tasks for the region. China will work with ASEAN to enhance cooperation in areas including trade, investment, financial cooperation, interconnection, maritime cooperation, people-to-people and cultural exchanges, speed up regional integration, jointly cope with challenges, and promote regional unity, stability and prosperity.

Thai Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul and Bruneian Foreign Minister Mohamed Bolkiah, on behalf of the foreign ministers, said ASEAN and China have respected and supported each other since they established the strategic partnership ten years ago. Their friendly and reciprocal cooperation promoted regional stability, growth and prosperity.

China's development brought opportunities for neighboring countries, the two foreign ministers said.

ASEAN will work with China on communication and coordination, expand exchanges and cooperation in such areas as economy, trade, culture, non-traditional security, and maritime, and properly handle disputes.

They also vowed to ensure the upcoming summit between ASEAN and China a great success.