China, ASEAN to hold 31st Senior Officials' Consultation

China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will hold their 31st Senior Officials' Consultation in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province, starting on Wednesday.

China's Vice-Foreign Minister Sun Weidong will lead a delegation to the consultation, which will last for three days, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Tuesday.

The China-ASEAN Senior Officials' Consultation is an important dialogue and cooperation mechanism between the foreign affairs departments in China and ASEAN member countries, Guo said.

China hopes to conduct in-depth communications with ASEAN over East Asia cooperation under new circumstances and discuss regional and international issues of common concern at the consultation, Guo said.