Rel ations between China and the Association of SoutheastAsian Nations (ASEAN) have mat u red and curre n t ly arethe stro n gest in their history. This assertion comes fromHu Zhengy u e, Director General of the Dep a rtment of AsianA ffa i rs of China’s Fo reign Ministry, as he sat down withBeijing Rev i ew rep o rter Yan Wei two weeks befo re theChina-ASEAN Commemorat ive Summit in southwest China’sN anning, Guangxi. Excerpts of the interv i ew fo llow: