NANNING - Premier Wen Jiabao said China and ASEAN countries should continue taking advantage of the ASEAN-China Friendship and Exchange Year to increase exchanges and cooperation in culture, education, tourism and youth affairs as he made the keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the eighth China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (CABIS) in Nanning, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Wen said China-ASEAN cultural exchanges are "an important way to deepen understandings and friendship among peoples and the foundation for the sustainable development of China-ASEAN relations."

The ASEAN-China Friendship and Exchange Year began in January in Kunming City, Yunnan Province, in an effort to boost relations and cultural exchanges.

China currently has more than 6,000 Chinese language volunteers working in the 40 Confucius institutes and classrooms in ASEAN countries.

ASEAN countries are now the top tourism destinations for Chinese travelers. More than 5 million Chinese tourists chose ASEAN countries as their first stop in overseas trips last year.