28th China-ASEAN Summit held in Kuala Lumpur

The 28th China-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit convened on Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with leaders gathering to review the progress of China-ASEAN cooperation and map out its future direction.

Attended by Chinese Premier Li Qiang and ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn, the summit also brought together leaders and representatives from across the ASEAN region.

Addressing the summit, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the chair of ASEAN 2025, stated that ASEAN countries are unanimous in their appreciation of China's committed and consistent engagement across the region.

In his opening remarks, Li emphasized that cooperation has been crucial to ASEAN's rapid economic development. He noted that it has not only helped the region weather global storms such as the Asian and global financial crises but has also served as a powerful engine, driving a tremendous expansion in trade and investment.

Li also lauded the strengthening of people-to-people ties between China and ASEAN, particularly over the past year, a trend fueled by reciprocal visa-free policies introduced between China and several ASEAN countries. This is notably evidenced by the 27-percent year-on-year surge in Chinese tourist arrivals to Malaysia, he said.

The Chinese premier also warned against "grave threats" to the region, pointing to unilateralism, protectionism, and unfairly high tariffs. He emphasized the imperative for ASEAN countries to resist manipulation by outside forces and to work to strengthen cooperation in order to jointly face these challenges.

The summit was part of the 47th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits, which are being held in Malaysia from Sunday to Tuesday under the theme "Inclusivity and Sustainability."

28th China-ASEAN Summit held in Kuala Lumpur

28th China-ASEAN Summit held in Kuala Lumpur

The Taiwan question concerns China's core interests and constitutes the biggest risk in China-U.S. relations, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Thursday when speaking to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio over the phone.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, noted that the U.S. side should honor its commitments and make the right choices, opening new space for China-U.S. cooperation and doing its part to promote world peace.

Head-of-state diplomacy has always been the "anchor" of China-U.S. relations, Wang said.

Noting that bilateral ties have generally remained stable under the strategic guidance of Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump, Wang said it serves the fundamental interests of both peoples and meets the common expectations of the international community.

Both sides should safeguard the hard-won stability, prepare well for key high-level interaction agendas, expand areas of cooperation, manage differences, explore building a China-U.S. relationship that is strategic, constructive and stable, and achieve mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation.

For his part, Rubio said that the U.S.-China relationship is the most important bilateral relationship in the world, and head-of-state diplomacy is at the core of the relationship.

Both sides should maintain communication and coordination, respect each other, properly handle differences, accumulate achievements for high-level interactions between the United States and China, and seek strategic stability in U.S.-China relations, said Rubio.

The two sides also exchanged views on the situation in the Middle East, among others.

Taiwan question constitutes biggest risk in China-US relations: Chinese FM