The Third Meeting of the China-ASEAN Joint Cooperation Committee will be held in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province from March 5 to 7.

This was announced here Tuesday by Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue at the routine press conference.

The Joint Cooperation Committee is one of the major cooperation mechanisms between China and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and the coming meeting will be an important one between China and ASEAN since the 4th Summit of East Asian leaders.

Zhang said that the meeting will focus its discussion on how to carry through the initiatives and proposals of the leaders of China and ASEAN on intensifying bilateral cooperation.

The meeting will be co-chaired by Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Director-General Adian Silalahi for ASEAN-Indonesia of the Indonesian Foreign Ministry.

She also said that officials from the ten ASEAN member states and the ASEAN Secretariat and over 10 ministries and commissions of China including the Foreign Ministry will attend the meeting.

(Xinhua 02/27/2001)