On 16 September 2015, the 10th China-ASEAN Cultural Forum, themed on"New Normal, New Partnership: ASEAN Plus China (10+1) Cultural Cooperation Pursuant to the Establishment of the ASEAN Community", was held in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. H.E. Mme. Yang Xiuping, Secretary-General of ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), attended the Opening Ceremony and delivered a speech. H.E. Mr. Wang Tie, Vice Minister of Chinese Ministry of Culture, and Mme. Li Kang, Vice Chairman of the People’s Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, were among a hundred ofparticipants, including the representatives from foreign missions in China, officials, experts and scholars from China as well as ASEAN Member States,who participated in the Forum.
Vice Minister Wang Tie said ASEAN-China relations entered the Diamond Decade from the Gold Decade, and cultural relations of the two sides had advanced significantly. Against this backdrop, China-ASEAN Cultural Forum had become an important pillar and platform for enhancing cultural cooperation in the region. The Forum would provide a good opportunity for the participants to brainstorm and conduct extensive and in-depth dialogues to review and exchange the past experiences. The participants would also be able to explore possibilities to enhance the development of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, build a cohesive Community of Common Destiny, and push forward ASEAN-China cultural relations into a new phase.
Mme. Li Kang highlighted a long history of relationship between Guangxi and ASEAN Member States, in which cultural exchange had always been an important aspect connecting the hearts and minds of the peoples from both sides. In light of the current development, China-ASEAN Cultural Forum, which had contributed to strengthening the high-level exchanges and dialogues, had become a platform for social and cultural exchanges, and played an important role in promoting pragmatic cultural cooperation between ASEAN and China. She emphasized, under the overall framework of deepening ASEAN-China cooperation, Guangxi would broaden and deepen its cultural cooperation with ASEAN, put more efforts to the construction of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, enhance arts exchange, cultural industry cooperation and capacity building, so as to promote win-win cooperation in the field of culture and share common cultural development for the benefit of the societies of ASEAN and China.
Secretary-General Yang Xiuping highly praised the Forum for its contribution to promote ASEAN-China cultural exchange, enhance mutual understanding and friendship, and reinforce the Strategic Partnership between the two sides. Mme. Yang also introduced ACC’s main functions and recent achievements especially ACC’s efforts to utilize its resources to promote cultural development between ASEAN and China. She expressed that 2016 would mark the 25th anniversary of ASEAN-China dialogue relations and that ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership had entered its Diamond Decade with a good start. Building a Community of Common Destiny, constructing the Maritime Silk Road of the 21st Century, materializing the 2+7 cooperation framework and working to finalize an upgraded version of CAFTA were the consensus and visions for ASEAN-China cooperation. With these developments, the relations between the two sides would have new opportunities and broader prospects. She added that China and ASEAN Member States should all gather the wisdom, strengthen collaboration, keep pace with the times, focus on long-term development, deepen cultural cooperation and exchange as well as enhance mutual understanding and friendship, so as to strengthen the foundation for the enhancement of ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership.
In this regard, Secretary-General Yang put forward the following suggestions. First, cultural authorities and coordinating agencies of all ASEAN Member States and China should further play a leading role in carrying out the Plan of Action on ASEAN-China Cooperation in Culture (2014-2018), adopted by the two sides. Second, more pragmatic ASEAN-China cultural cooperation projects and activities should be initiated and launched. Third, cultural enlightenment projects and activities for children on long-term good neighborliness and friendly cooperation should be initiated and carried out. Fourth, full preparations of cultural cooperation programmes should be made to put on a series of cultural cooperation activities to commemorate the 25th anniversary of ASEAN-China dialogue relations.
At the Forum, the participants had extensive and in-depth discussions and reached a broad consensus on jointly constructing the Maritime Silk Road in the 21st Century and strengthening ASEAN-China cultural cooperation and development pursuant to the establishment of the ASEAN Community.
Prior to the Opening Ceremony, Vice Minister Wang Tie and Mme. Li Kang met with Secretary-General Yang Xiuping and other distinguished guests and exchanged views on further enhancing ASEAN-China cultural exchange and cooperation in the new era.
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