China, ASEAN eye closer ties as expo, summit start

Premier Li Qiang reaffirmed on Sunday Beijing's commitment to a neighborhood policy of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness in bolstering ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, calling for a closer bond of interests between China and the 10-nation regional group.

The country stands ready to scale up the imports of unique and high-quality products from ASEAN member states and to expand the trading scale of intermediate goods, Li said while addressing the opening of the 20th China-ASEAN Expo and the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit.

The expo, which is being held in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, from Sunday through Tuesday, has brought together nearly 2,000 businesses from over 40 countries.