Ning Fukui, Chinese ambassador to Cambodia and head of the Chinese delegation to the senior officials meeting, said in Siem Reap, Cambodia Tuesday this would "further strengthen the relationship between China and ASEAN."

China very much values the relations with ASEAN and prepares to strengthen its multidimensional cooperation with ASEAN on the basis of mutual benefits, he added.

Chem Widya, secretary-general of Cambodia's Foreign Ministry, who chaired the meeting of ASEAN and its dialogue partners said, "We also very much appreciate China's decision as the first state outside the region to join the treaty."

The Treaty of Amity and Cooperation was established in 1976 by five founding members of ASEAN. Russia has expressed its interest in joining the treaty.

Chinese officials and ASEAN made final preparations for China's entry into the treaty at meetings here Tuesday.

The three-day senior official's meeting of ASEAN and ASEAN dialogue partners opened Monday to lay the groundwork for the forthcoming meetings of ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) scheduled on June in Phnom Penh.

ARF groups 10 ASEAN members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam), and its 10 dialogue partners namely Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Russia and the United States, as well as Mongolia, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Papua New Guinea.

China formally became a dialogue partner of ASEAN in 1992 and has since attended ASEAN annual ministerial meetings.

(Xinhua News Agency April 30, 2003)