Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Fu Ying said Sunday that China is ready to promote maritime connectivity with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Fu Ying

Fu said China will use the 473 million dollar China-ASEAN Maritime Cooperation Fund to upgrade ports and maritime transport cooperation with ASEAN. China will host a seminar on China-ASEAN maritime connectivity strategy at the end of this year. Fu said China is actively preparing for the establishment of a China-ASEAN Committee on Connectivity Cooperation. She said China is ready to work with ASEAN to strengthen cooperation in Free Trade Agreement (FTA), connectivity, maritime cooperation, and in social and cultural issues, which will raise the China-ASEAN strategic partnership to a new level. China is the largest trading partner of ASEAN, and ASEAN is the third largest trading partner of China.