State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday the Asia-Pacific region should not be a chessboard for major power rivalry when he met the press on the sidelines of the fifth session of the 13th National People's Congress.

"Countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are not chess pieces in a geopolitical contest, but important players who will help promote regional development and prosperity," he said.

Wang called on China and ASEAN countries to be forerunners in international cooperation against the COVID-19 pandemic, pacesetters in regional cooperation and defenders of stability in the Asia-Pacific region.