China formally joins the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) in Bali, Indonesia Wednesday after foreign ministers of China and 10 ASEAN members signed a document on China's accession to the treaty.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and ASEAN leaders witnessed the signing by Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and ASEAN foreign ministers on the document.

ASEAN, or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, has expressed its hope that China joins the treaty as a non-Southeast Asian country in recent years, according to a press release from the Chinese delegation, which is attending a series of ASEAN-related meetings.

In June 2003, the Chinese National People's Congress (NPC) approved the country's accession to the treaty.

Principles and purpose of the TAC conform to the five principles of peaceful co-existence upheld by China, the press release said.

China's accession to the TAC is conducive to the long-term stability and development of relations between China and ASEAN as well as the maintaining of the region's peace and stability, it added.
 
(Xinhua News Agency October 8, 2003)