(VOVworld) - China’s ties with ASEAN are entering a “period of maturity”, said China’s Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin.

China’s Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)

He told reporters on Wednesday that Premier Li Keqiang would attend the 19th China-ASEAN (10+1) leaders’ meeting, the 19th ASEAN-China, Japan, and Republic of Korea (10+3) leaders’ meeting, and the 11th East Asia Summit in Vientiane, Laos, from Sept 6 to 9. Liu said the Premier’s upcoming visits would tighten China-ASEAN relations, promote East Asia’s integration, and ensure regional peace and stability.

He noted that China was ASEAN’s largest trading partner and that ASEAN was China’s third largest, with bilateral trade reaching 209 billion USD in the first half of 2016.