Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji said in Manila Sunday that China will expand and deepen its mutually beneficial cooperation with Southeast Asian countries in various fields.

Addressing the informal summit between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China, Zhu said emphasis should be placed on cooperation in the economic, trade, scientific and technological, agricultural and financial fields.

China also stands ready to strengthen its links with the ASEAN Free Trade Area and the ASEAN Free Investment Area. It also supports the development of the Mekong River Basin, Zhu said.

China will maintain and increase friendly contacts with ASEAN countries at various levels and through various channels to enhance mutual understanding and trust, he said.

In regional and international affairs, he said, China and ASEAN supported each other and worked closely together to strengthen dialogue and cooperation and maintain regional peace and stability.

China and ASEAN countries will continue to render support to and cooperate with each other in regional and international organizations and make joint efforts for the establishment of a new just and rational world order, he said.

China has pursued an independent foreign policy of peace. And more and more countries have seen more clearly that a developed China will not pose a threat to any country, but rather it will contribute to regional and world peace and prosperity, the premier pointed out.

"China will never seek hegemony," he said, adding: "China will forever share weal and woe with the vast number of developing countries."

On East Asia's economic issues, Zhu said that it requires persistent efforts of all countries here to get the regional economy out of the current dire straits.

At present, East Asia is under the double pressure of overcoming all the negative impact of the financial crisis and meeting new challenges accompanying economic globalization, he pointed out.

A "profound lesson" drawn from the Asian financial crisis in 1997 is that all countries in the region should press ahead with their respective reforms and cooperate with each other before the momentum of development can be brought back, Zhu said.

"In a fairly long period of time to come, East Asian cooperation should focus on the economic area," he said.

"As East Asia may become one of the assault targets of international capital and in the absence of a rational international financial system and a full-fledged financial supervision and regulation system in regional countries, it is still a heavy task to guard against and prevent financial risks," the premier added.

Zhu put forward a multi-point proposal at the summit to strengthen the dialogue mechanism in East Asia, which includes holding meetings of financial and bank leaders or officials, and setting up an ad hoc committee to monitor and study the region's financial situation.

He suggested that East Asian countries coordinate positions and stances on major international financial and economic issues so that East Asia may play its part in the reform of the international financial system.

Talking about China's link with East Asia, the premier said "China cannot develop without East Asia, neither can East Asia prosper without China."

"China's political stability, economic development and social progress constitute the most important contribution China makes to the development of East Asia," Zhu added.

ASEAN, founded in 1967, groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The Informal Summit between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China, Japan and South Korea, which is the only channel for East Asian leaders to meet and exchange ideas on regional cooperation.