Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong meets China's Premier Li Keqiang on November 12, 2018. (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)

Mr. Li made the statement at a function in Singapore, adding that the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) has played an important role in maintaining regional peace and stability over the past two decades. China hopes this will create the opportunity to gain strategic  advances in the formulation of the COC, he said.

China and the 10-member ASEAN agreed in August on a single draft to continue negotiations over the code of conduct in the East Sea. This is a fundamental document to build a practical COC which is in line with international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).