VIENTIANE, Nov. 29 (Xinhuanet) -- Leaders from China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) gathered here on Monday for a nearly two-hour meeting, focusing on more cooperation.

    The eighth such meeting was attended by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and heads of state or government from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

    The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 10th ASEAN summit. Earlier in the day, a two-hour summit between ASEAN and China, Japan and South Korea (or 10+3) was also convened here.

    Following the ASEAN-China summit, the two sides are expected tosign the Agreement on Disputes Settlement Mechanism and the Agreement on Trade in Goods of the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation between the two sides.

    ASEAN will also hold summits respectively with Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand, or "10+1" summit.

    Addressing the 10+3 summit, Wen said that ASEAN should play "role as the driving force" in East Asia's cooperation and take an East Asian community as the "long-term objective" of 10 plus threecooperation.

    China supports the convening of an East Asia Summit on the basis of consensus and Malaysia as the host of the first such summit. Enditem