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Updated Sunday, May 1, 2011 10:55 pm TWN, AFP

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China to help foster ties with ASEAN: Premier

JAKARTA -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Saturday Beijing wants to boost cooperation in trade and security with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

In a policy speech on the last day of a three-day visit to Indonesia, the current chair of ASEAN and its biggest member, Wen extolled the virtues of an ASEAN-China free trade agreement (FTA) that came into effect in January.

“China is committed to deepening practical cooperation with ASEAN,” Wen said.

“Last year, China became ASEAN's biggest trading partner. We launched the largest FTA among developing countries and we have set the target of US$500 billion in two-way trade by 2015,” he said.

China will increase capacity building and human resources training to speed up development in the poorest ASEAN members, he said.

“China stands ready to work with ASEAN to maintain regional security and stability,” he said.

On Friday, Wen held talks with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and announced billions of U.S. dollars in loans for badly needed infrastructure projects in the archipelago.

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