ASEAN-China relations have come a long way in the past decade and there have been remarkable advances in economic, political, and security cooperation this year. Relations between China and ASEAN were initiated only in July 1991 when Beijing began to attend the ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference (ASEAN PMC) as a consultative partner. This was significant since until 1990 some ASEAN members did not even have formal diplomatic ties with China. At the 24th Asean Ministerial Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, then Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen expressed China’s interest in strengthening cooperation with ASEAN. This was received warmly by ASEAN and a series of milestones have followed. They include: