VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang will not attend diplomatic meetings with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta this week, said Wang Wenbin, the spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Tuesday.

During a press conference in Beijing, Wenbin stated that China would be represented by Wang Yi, a senior diplomat who serves as the Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, as cited from an official transcript released by the ministry.

On behalf of Qin, Wang Yi is scheduled to attend the meetings with the foreign affairs ministers of ASEAN and ASEAN Plus Three on Thursday, July 13, as well as the East Asia Summit (EAS) and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) on Friday, July 14.

However, Wenbin did not disclose the reason behind Minister Qin's absence from the ASEAN meetings.

Qin, who has been in office since last year as the successor to Wang Yi, was last seen in public on June 25 in Beijing after meeting with officials from Sri Lanka, Russia, and Vietnam.

“China hopes to see more common understanding emerging from those meetings and contributing to regional peace, stability, and prosperity,” the spokesperson noted.

Wenbin stated that Beijing will work with regional countries to firmly support ASEAN unity and advance the purposes and principles of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) in Southeast Asia.

“China will work with regional countries to capitalize on the full entry into force of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and keep regional industrial and supply chains stable and smooth,” he stated.

The EAS constitutes a regional forum involving 18 countries: 10 ASEAN member states, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia, and the United States.

Meanwhile, the ASEAN Plus Three is a meeting that brings together the representatives of ASEAN, China, Japan, and South Korea. (Antaranews)