Hanoi (VNA) – The ASEAN Plus Three (ASEAN+3)cooperation mechanism has been running in high gearsince the outbreak of COVID-19, and the collective response fully demonstratesthe close neighborliness and friendship, Chinese Ambassador to ASEAN Deng Xijun has said.

ASEAN+3 comprises member countries of theAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China, Japan and theRepublic of Korea (RoK).

In a writteninterview with China's Xinhua News Agency recently, Deng said Southeast Asian countriesresponded immediately by offering each other assistance and working together inthe collective fight since the outbreak of COVID-19.

Efforts of ASEAN+3 have provedto be highly effective in protecting people's health and lives, maintainingnormal exchanges and minimising the impact of the disease on economy andsociety, he said.

Deng further saidthat ASEAN+3 health authorities have maintained close communication through theASEAN+3 health development framework to find ways of strengthening cooperationin public health emergencies.

According to the ambassador,the ASEAN+3 cooperation mechanism was set up in response to the Asian financialcrisis in late 1990s and then emerged even stronger from the internationalfinancial crisis in 2008.

Through mutual help under thismechanism, the ASEAN+3 countries also stood strong against SARS, the highlypathogenic avian influenza and the Indian Ocean tsunami, he said.

As an important member of the ASEAN+3 mechanism and a major country of the region, Deng said China has been astrong advocate and productive participant of ASEAN+3's collective response tothe COVID-19 outbreak via medical supplies, policy coordination, informationsharing and medical personnel support.

With regard to the upcomingspecial ASEAN Plus Three Summit on COVID-19 via video conference, Deng said itwill be the first leaders' meeting that covers the East Asian region in responseto COVID-19 and also the first special meeting so far among ASEAN+3 leaderssince the mechanism was established.

Deng said the summit willparticularly boost the ASEAN+3 cooperation in public health and significantlyenhance emergency response to major disasters in regional countries, thusfurther cementing the foundation of an East Asian community.

Deng believed thatthe regional impact of the pandemic is also high on the agenda and leaders willtalk about how to better coordinate macroeconomic policies and stabiliseregional supply chains.

The ambassador also said thatChina will keep a close contact with other countries on the pandemiccontainment and trade-related measures, fully implement the ASEAN-China freetrade agreement, actively work with other parties towards the signing of the RegionalComprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) this year and expand regionalcooperation in emerging areas such as the digital economy./.