On 7 August 2016, H.E. Mme. Yang Xiuping, Secretary-General of ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), addressed the 3rd session of the ASEAN Leadership Forum on the topic of “China-Hong Kong-ASEAN Partnership: Growing Together for Shared Prosperity”. Other guests who made speeches on the same topic included H.E. Mr. Gregory So, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development of the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr. George Yeo, Chairman of Kerry Logistics Hong Kong, and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Singapore, Dato’Abdul Majid Khan, President of Malaysia-China Friendship Association and Former Ambassador to China.
Secretary-General Yang Xiuping extended congratulations on the coming ASEAN Day on 8 August and said that 2016 marked the 25th anniversary of ASEAN-China dialogue relations and ASEAN-China Year of Educational Exchange. It was also the first year of China’s 13th Five-Year Plan and of the realization of ASEAN Community. ASEAN-China relations had made remarkable progress and contributed to peace, development and prosperity of ASEAN. It was the common task for ASEAN and China to make economic development and improve people’s livelihood. Win-win cooperation, development and prosperity were our common needs and goals. ASEAN-China relations enjoyed a solid foundation, huge potentials and broad prospects. Against the backdrop of sluggish recovery of global economy and increasing downward pressure for regional countries, ASEAN and China should further align the 13th Five-Year Plan with ASEAN Community Vision 2025, jointly build the Belt and Road, and make the pie of common interests bigger. She proposedto promote comprehensive development of trade in goods, service, economic and technological cooperation to realize better quality and efficiency in economic and trade cooperation, to strengthen production capacity cooperation to facilitate industrial transformation and upgrading, to promote connectivity and carry out more pilot projects, and fully utilize AIIB and Silk Road Fund to give strong financial boosts to functional cooperation in relevant areas, to promote Lancang-Mekong cooperation and give new highlights to ASEAN-China cooperation and to enhance people-to-people exchanges and lay a more solid foundation for ASEAN-China relations.
Secretary-General Yang said that Hong Kong and ASEAN, facing each other across the sea, was blessed with unique geographical advantages for cooperation. ASEAN was Hong Kong’s second largest trade partner, the fourth largest export market and an important destination for investment. Hong Kong was currently actively participating in the Belt and Road, and was negotiating FTA with ASEAN. It was expected that Hong Kong and ASEAN would give full play to respective advantages, explore cooperation in infrastructure, logistics, finance, insurance, law service, etc., and enhance people-to-people exchange in education, culture, youth and tourism, so as to further deepen mutual understandings and friendship among the people.
Secretary-General Yang briefed on the function of ACC and said that since its inception in 2011, ACC had been actively implementing the consensus reached by the leaders, promoting functional cooperation in trade, investment, education, culture and tourism. So far, ACC had organized or participated in about 500 activities with fruitful achievements. ACC’s work was well acknowledged by the leaders of both sides. ACC would work together with all walks of life in ASEAN and China, and continue to serve as a promoter of good-neighborliness and mutual trust, a facilitator of functional cooperation and a messenger of friendship to make greater contributions to ASEAN-China functional cooperation.
Secretary Gregory So outlined Hong Kong’s advantages for cooperation with ASEAN, and said that Hong Kong was the centre of international trade, shipping and finance, with word-class infrastructure and professionals. Hong Kong could function as "Super Contact" to offer value-added service in logistics and trade to countries including ASEAN. As an open economic entity, Hong Kong would like to make contributions to economy cooperation between ASEAN and China. The Arrangement of Mainland China and Hong Kong to Establish Closer Economy and Trade Relations gave Hong Kong preferential access conditions to enter mainland market, and facilitated foreign enterprises to enter Mainland China’s consumer market with 1.3 billion population. The recently-concluded Conference of Ministers of Economy and Trade of ASEAN-Hong Kong agreed on accomplishing ASEAN-Hong Kong Free Trade Negotiation this year, which would create a wider space for economy and trade cooperation between both sides.
Mr. George Yeo said that the rapid development of China brought about great opportunities to ASEAN. President Xi Jinping put forward the Belt and Road initiative, which would promote ASEAN-China relations, and provide more opportunities for cooperation in connectivity, finance, trade and investment for both sides.
Dato’ Abdul Majid Khan said that ASEAN-China dialogue relations had borne rich fruits which benefited all ASEAN countries. Major initiatives such as Belt and Road and AIIB had created fresh impetus for the development of ASEAN-China relations. Malaysia and China had friendly and close relations. Malaysia welcomed investments from China. Over the past two years, the number of Chinese tourists to China had kept growing. He made special thanks to ACC for holding the tourism labour training courses in Malaysia in 2015, which promoted Malaysia-China tourist cooperation.
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