BEIJING - China on Wednesday welcomed Russia and the United States as new members of the East Asia Summit (EAS).

"China welcomes the official entry of Russia and the United States into the EAS this year," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Weimin said at a daily press briefing.

The 16-member EAS was founded in 2005 and included ten countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.

The 6th EAS will be held in Bali, Indonesia later this week.

"China, among the first countries to welcome the entry of Russia and the United States into the EAS, believes both countries will play their own constructive roles in promoting cooperation in East Asia," Liu said.

Liu called for the two countries to support the EAS' position as a strategic forum, its current cooperation principles and the ASEAN's leading role in the summit.