Visiting Senior Chinese legislator Zha Peixin on Wednesday called for further cooperation between China's top legislature and parliaments of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Speaking at the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly's (AIPA) meeting, Zha, head of the Chinese parliamentarian delegation, said the National People's Congress of China (NPC) is willing to expand exchange and cooperation with the parliaments of Southeast Asian countries, in order to create a mutual beneficial and win-win situation.

"During recent years, the NPC has maintained close and friendly contact with AIPA and all parliaments of ASEAN countries, playing a significant role in enhancing good neighborly relations and mutually beneficial cooperation," he said.

China is glad to see the active progress achieved in the process of ASEAN integration and China will support the regional bloc's integration process and community building, as well as the leading role ASEAN is playing in East Asian cooperation, said Zha, who is member of the Standing Committee of NPC and vice chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee of NPC.

"The Chinese government has officially decided to appoint an ambassador to ASEAN so as to further promote contact and exchange with ASEAN, and reinforce bilateral cooperation in a pragmatic way, " he said.

China-ASEAN cooperation has achieved new progress over the past year, Zha said, noting that China and ASEAN have now become each others' fourth largest trading partner, with the trading volume soaring to more than US$200 billion last year.

Calling China and ASEAN as good neighbors, partners and friends, Zha said China and ASEAN countries should further promote unity and cooperation to comprehensively implement the action plan of China-ASEAN Joint Statement on strategic partnership towards peace and prosperity.

"We should firmly seize the opportunity to achieve our own development on one hand, and coordinate with each other to properly address the challenges on the other hand, trying to work hard to turn unfavorable factors into favorable ones, and challenges into opportunities."

As for China's economic situation, the senior legislator said, the general momentum of China's economic development has kept unchanged so far this year, in spite of many unfavorable factors in global economy and severe natural disasters like the Sichuan earthquake at home.

"We firmly believe that the targets for this year's national economic and social development will certainly be reached," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency August 21, 2008)