Chinese Premier Wen Jiaobao AP
BEIJING—Chinese Premier Wen Jiaobao will focus on economic cooperation at a meeting of Southeast Asian leaders this week that will include President Barack Obama and not on regional territorial disputes.
Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying said Saturday that China is more interested in deepening economic development and cooperation as a stabilizing force in the global economy than focusing on lingering disputes in the South China Seas.
The meetings start Sunday in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh and Fu says Wen will make a formal visit to Cambodia before leaving Tuesday for a state visit to Thailand. His trip ends Wednesday.
It has not been decided whether Wen will meet Obama separately.
The meetings are organized by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. China is not part of the group.