1st Ld-Writethru: China wants closer community of common destiny with ASEAN: FM

China wants to build an even closer China-ASEAN community of common destiny for mutual benefits, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Tuesday.

Speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the national legislature's annual session, Wang said that China sees ASEAN as a preferred partner in terms of the "Belt and Road" cooperation, FTA cooperation, regional cooperation and maritime cooperation.

China will work to promote the construction of trans-Asian railway network so that people in China and the ASEAN countries will find it easier to visit each other, he said.

At the same time, China wants to ensure an upgraded version of the China-ASEAN FTA, actively advance the RCEP negotiation and try to wrap it up before the end of this year, the foreign minister said.

Wang also said that the Lancang-Mekong River cooperation leaders' meeting that will take place at the end of this month will be an useful supplement to the China-ASEAN cooperation.

In addition, China will further promote maritime cooperation with ASEAN in such areas as ocean economy, maritime environmental protection and maritime security, he said. Endi