The Ministers from China and ten Members Countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) held an informal meeting in Qingdao, China on 21 June 2004. The meeting was co-chaired by H.E. Li Zhaoxing, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, and H.E. Hor Namhong, Senior Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia as a Country Coordinator for ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations. H.E. Ong Keng Yong, Secretary-General of ASEAN, attended the meeting.

　　The Ministers exchanged views on regional and global issues. They agreed that ASEAN and Chinese Permanent Representatives to the United Nations could have regular consultations. They discussed the current situation in Iraq and agreed that the United Nations should play a leading role in Iraqi post-war reconstruction. The Ministers expressed their support for the ongoing efforts towards a nuclear-weapon-free Korean Peninsula. The ASEAN side commended China's active and important role in promoting the Six-Party Talks about the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula.

　　The Ministers exchanged views on Asian regional cooperation, East Asia cooperation in particular. Both sides agreed that an East Asian community is a long-term objective for East Asia cooperation to be developed through the existing ASEAN+3 mechanism and supported the idea of convening the East Asia Summit at an appropriate time. The Chinese side reaffirmed its support for ASEAN's role as the major driving force in East Asia cooperation.

　　The Ministers welcomed the convening of the third Foreign Ministers' Meeting of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), to be hosted by China on 22 June 2004 in Qingdao. The Ministers agreed that ASEAN and China could play a key role in deepening and widening Asian cooperation, including the development of Asian Bond Market in both demand and supply sides.

　　The Ministers shared the views that the on-going process of bilateral, sub-regional and regional arrangements would be the building blocks for the region-wide and multilateral cooperation.

　　The Ministers shared the view that efforts should be continued to promote the role of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) as a code of conduct for state-to-state relations in this region. The Chinese side reiterated its willingness to sign the Protocol to the Treaty of the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ), for which ASEAN would highly commend China, given China's status as a Permanent Member of the United Nations Security Council.

　　The Ministers agreed that the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) should be incrementally implemented in an effective way so as to maintain regional stability and promote cooperation in the South China Sea.

　　The Ministers agreed on the formulation of the Plan of Action on Strengthening China-ASEAN Strategic partnership, to be adopted by ASEAN-China Leaders in Vientiane in November 2004, with a view to implementing the Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity signed by leaders of the two sides in October 2003. The Ministers also agreed that ASEAN and China should develop comprehensive frameworks for their cooperation in the five key areas, namely agriculture, ICT, HRD, Mekong basin development and mutual investment, as well as SMEs, public health and science and technology.

　　The Ministers believed that the establishment of ASEAN-China Free Trade Area serves the shared interests of both sides. They commended the joint efforts made by the ASEAN-China Trade Negotiating Committee which clearly reflected the strong commitment by both sides to move forward the negotiation process that would lead to an early conclusion of the agreement for ASEAN-China Free Trade Area.

　　The Ministers noted with satisfaction the latest developments regarding the accession of some ASEAN countries to the WTO and expressed support for their early accession. They also called for the admission of Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar to the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).

　　China reiterated its support for ASEAN's integration process including efforts to establish the ASEAN Community, comprising the ASEAN Security Community (ASC), the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and the ASEAN Socio-cultural Community (ASCC), and the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI). The Ministers maintained that both sides should step up cooperation in the Mekong River Basin development, Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-the Philippines-East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), the development of China's west and the revitalization of China's northeast region, with a view to promoting common development.

　　The Ministers believed that maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits conforms to the common interests of all countries in the region. ASEAN member countries reaffirmed their commitment to the one-China policy and for which the Chinese side expressed its appreciation.

　　The Ministers noted with satisfaction the significant progress made in broadening and deepening relations between ASEAN and China, and agreed to continue utilizing existing mechanisms to enhance mutual understanding and expand common ground, which would go a long way in strengthening China-ASEAN strategic partnership.