China to appoint ambassador to Asean Secretariat

"We are thinking seriously of appointing an ambassador to Asean. America beat us to this," said He Yafei, an assistant foreign minister during a meeting with Asean journalists.

He said the appointment of an Asean ambassador would be in line with the bloc's development under the framework of the Asean Charter. Next January, each Asean member will appoint its permanent representatives stationed in Jakarta to attend meetings at the Asean Secretariat.

Last year, more than 700 Asean meetings were convened. Quite often, these meetings were not attended by all Asean members due to limited per¬sonnel and financial resources. With a fixed venue at the secre¬tariat and representative sys¬tem, it would increase attendance and save time and money.

The minister, who oversees Asian and disarmament affairs, said Asean-China relations were excellent and both sides were working towards a free-trade agreement, which is expected to be completed in 2010. In 2000, China initiated the pact and negotiations began.

In a wideranging interview, the minister also discussed the idea to establish an Asia Pacific Community (APC) within 2020 proposed by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd recently. He said China was open to any ideas that are useful for regional cooperation, but added that any new mechanisms, whatever they might be, should not replace existing mechanisms and they should be complimentary.

He also rejected the APC's plan if it was moving along the lines of the European Community. "I have my personal doubts," he said, reiterating that the "Asean plus three process" remains one of the backbones of regional community building and is working pretty well.

At the moment, Asean is the driving force in the Asean Regional Forum, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation and the East Asia Summit. Rudd said the region needed a new regional architecture to cope with new challenges, which include climate change and counter terrorism.

Both Asean and China, the minister added, would soon be able to establish the longawaited AseanChina Centre in Beijing. "The discussions have been optimistic and are bearing fruit," he said. Both Japan and Korea have such centres in their capitals.

The minister also revealed that China was contemplating the establishment of a develop¬ment fund for Asean members to build and improve infrastructure that would promote links with Southeast Asia by rail, road, sea and air. The model for the fund is still under study.