His Excellency Kong Xuanyou, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China,
Her Excellency Khek Caimealy Sysoda, Ambassador of Cambodia to China,
Ambassadors, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good evening.
First and foremost, on behalf of all my colleagues of the ASEAN-China Centre Secretariat, I would like to welcome all of you to tonight's celebration, and express our appreciation to the warm remarks by H.E.Mr. Kong Xuanyou and H.E. Khek Caimealy Sysoda. I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to the governments and all walks of life of ASEAN Member States and China for the strong support to ACC. I would also like to thank my ACC colleagues, especially the four officials from ASEAN countries, for their hard work and contributions to the development of ACC.
My dear friends,
2015 is a crucial year of building the Diamond Decade of ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership. In 2015, ACC has actively implemented the consensus reached by the leaders of ASEAN and China by promoting functional cooperation and exchanges in the areas of trade, investment, education, culture and tourism, as well as public relations and media, with accomplishment of 18 flagship projects and engagement in over 100 activities. ACC has fully played its role as an information and activities centre, and was recognized in the Chairman's Statement of the 18th ASEAN-China Summit, which was successfully concluded recently in Kuala Lumpur.
On trade and investment, ACC has continued to raise awareness on ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) and policies of investment in China, and compiled an Import Guidebook of China for ASEAN SMEs to deepen their understanding on Chinese import procedures and regulations. ACC has actively participated in the 12th China-ASEAN EXPO (CAEXPO), promoted sectoral business matching and production capacity cooperation, as well as organized trade and investment missions to Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, the Philippines and Viet Nam to enhance business opportunities for both sides. ACC spares no efforts to promote ASEAN enterprises to participate in Chinese trade fairs, such as the 9th Central China Expo, 21st Lanzhou Trade and Investment Fair, China Yiwu Imported Commodities Fair, etc. ACC has also tried to seek proper locations for expanding ASEAN Products Trade Centre (APTC) in Tianjin and other parts of China, facilitating more ASEAN products' entry into the Chinese market.
On education, ACC has successfully carried out a number of activities to implement the "Double 100,000 Students Mobility Plan" by organizing activities for ASEAN students in China, supporting the annual China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week (CAECW), and collaborating with the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO). Through ACC's efforts, the Secretariat of ASEAN-China Network for Cooperation and Exchanges among Engineering and Technology Universities (ACNET-EngTech) was officially launched at Tianjin University, and ASEAN-China Chinese Language and Culture Education Base was established at Tianjin International Chinese College (TICC). ACC launched the books on the development of education in Southeast Asia and China, which provided important reference for educational exchanges between both sides.
On culture, ACC has promoted two-way exchanges by showcasing the uniqueness and diversity of ASEAN and Chinese cultures. ACC organized lectures and performances of Chinese magicians and acrobatics in Lao PDR. ACC supported China-Myanmar Buddhism Art Exhibition and People-to-People Art Exhibition in Myanmar and China respectively, and Thailand-China Cultural Tourism Motorcade Tour in China and Thailand. ACC has continued to play a key role in supporting the 10th China-ASEAN Cultural Forum, the 2015 CAEXPO Cultural Exhibition, Silk Road Cuisine Display--Yangzhou Week, China-ASEAN Hand-in-Hand Youth Foreign Languages Public Speaking Contest on the "Belt and Road", the 14th Asia Art Festival, 10+3 Workshop on Cooperation for Cultural Human Resource Development and so forth, to strengthen ASEAN-China people-to-people exchanges and friendship.
On tourism, ACC has made innovative efforts to explore ways of cooperation. ACC, in collaboration with the ASEAN Secretariat, has produced promotional materials in Chinese language to promote ASEAN tourism. Under the theme "Discover New ASEAN", ACC has partnered with leading tourism media to conduct tourism promotional trip to Lao PDR, support the development of tourism products such as self-driving, road and cruise travels. ACC set up its booth during the 1st CAEXPO Tourism Exhibition and China International Travel Mart to promote the tourism resources of all ASEAN Member States. Workshops and seminars were organized in Malaysia and the Philippines to enhance the capacity of the local tourism officials and professionals in efforts to support the ASEAN tourism sector and improve their services, which were warmly welcomed.
On information and public relations, two flagship projects were successfully organized for the media. One was a reporting trip by ASEAN media to China themed on "ASEAN and China Jointly Build the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road", and another was a reporting trip to Lao PDR and Thailand by Chinese media themed on "Experiencing ASEAN Community 2015 and ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership in Its Diamond Decade". With an aim to provide comprehensive information and useful statistics relating to ASEAN-China relations, ACC published "2014 ASEAN and China in Figures" .
I believe you have walked through the Photo Exhibition on "Strengthening ASEAN-China Relations" before entering into this hall. We hope that by showing the vigorous development of ASEAN-China relations, we may bring in the historical moments for all of you to be ready for the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of ASEAN-China dialogue relations next year.
My dear friends,
China and ASEAN are ushering in a new starting point in their respective development, and with broad prospects and great potential for bilateral cooperation. The formal establishment of the ASEAN Community, as the 1st sub-regional Community in Asian history, in two weeks to come, will be a milestone in the process of ASEAN integration. China is drawing up the 13th Five-Year Plan for economic and social development, and will lead its future action of building a moderately prosperous society by implementing its development concepts of innovation, coordination, green, openness and sharing. The 18th ASEAN-China Summit has charted the future development of ASEAN-China relations. With joint efforts, I am confident that ASEAN and China will witness a broader and even brighter future.
As the only inter-governmental organization jointly founded by the governments of 10 ASEAN Member States and China, ACC will take the opportunities of the year 2016 which will mark the 25th anniversary of ASEAN-China dialogue relations and the Year of ASEAN-China Educational Exchange, continue to embark on more innovative and pioneering efforts to contribute to further elevate our functional cooperation and friendship between ASEAN and China.
As the New Year is approaching, I wish all of you and your families good health, and a happy and prosperous New Year!
Thank you!
京公网安备 11010502040265号