The ninth meeting of the China-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Joint Cooperation Committee is to be held from March 3 to 5 in China's southwestern Chongqing municipality, China's Foreign Ministry said Sunday.

Senior officials from the foreign ministries of China and ten ASEAN member states are expected to attend the meeting.

The three-day meeting will focus on the exchange of views on facilitating substantial and all-round cooperation between China and ASEAN, and implement follow-up actions of the China-ASEAN summit last year, according to the Foreign Ministry.

The Joint Cooperation Committee, set up in 1997, acts as an annual dialogue and coordination mechanism between China and the ASEAN.

(Xinhua News Agency February 25, 2008)