On 10 December 2018, ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) held a reception to celebrate its 7th anniversary of establishment. Mr. Wu Jianghao, Director General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Mr. Stanley Loh Ka Leung, Ambassador of Singapore which holds the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN, attended the event together with ambassadors of Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Viet Nam and Pakistan, charge d’affaires of Embassy of Brunei, representatives from embassies of Laos and Thailand among other countries, representatives of international organizations, officials of Chinese government, former Chinese envoys to ASEAN countries, and representatives from communities of business, culture, education, tourism, academics and media. Altogether, around 400 people were present.
In delivering remarks on behalf of the ASEAN side, Ambassador Stanley Loh said that ACC had organized numerous activities in the economic, cultural and media fields over the past year, which had been useful in promoting greater awareness of ASEAN in China and supporting deeper mutual understanding, trust and cooperation between ASEAN countries and China. The year 2018 had been an exciting and fruitful year for ASEAN-China relations. The upgrade of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement had taken full effect. Strong progress had been made in the negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement. The ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership Vision Statement 2030 was adopted at the ASEAN-China Summit, which sets out aspirations and direction for the next 15 years of cooperation. To echo the theme of ASEAN-China Year of Innovation, various activities were conducted to promote collaboration in areas such as fintech, e-commerce and smart cities. ASEAN and China also adopted a Joint Statement on Science, Technology and Innovation to boost cooperation. Next year is designated as the ASEAN-China Year of Media Exchanges. It’s hoped that ACC would carry out more public diplomacy activities to promote ASEAN-China friendship and cooperation.
ACC Secretary-General Chen Dehai thanked the Chinese and ASEAN communities for their long-term support and assistance to ACC, and reviewed ACC’s accomplishment over the past year to mark the 15th anniversary of ASEAN-China strategic partnership and ASEAN-China Year of Innovation. He said that the continuous growth of ACC reflects the sound momentum of consolidation and development of ASEAN-China relations and conforms to the continuous progress in regional integration. The 21st ASEAN-China Summit acknowledged the important role and contributions of ACC in promoting trade, investment, tourism, education, culture, media and information cooperation between ASEAN and China. Standing on a new starting point, ACC would forge ahead, under the guidance of the Vision 2030 and closely encompassing the key direction and priority areas of ASEAN-China cooperation, to push forward the practical cooperation, enhance the people-to-people exchanges, and work with all parties to make new and greater contributions to promoting the continuous development of ASEAN-China strategic partnership.
Director General Wu Jianghao, Ambassador Stanley Loh, Secretary-General Chen Dehai and ambassadors and representatives from ASEAN countries cut together a cake marking the 7th anniversary of the establishment of ACC. At the reception, ACC micro promotional video was launched, congratulatory messages from members of Joint Council and ambassadors of ASEAN countries to China were presented, and the ASEAN Tourism Photo Exhibition was displayed. Actors from Chengdu Associated Theatre of Performing Art staged traditional Chinese opera performance. Students from Cambodia, Laos, Viet Nam and Malaysia performed singing and dancing,showcasing cultures of Southeast Asia. All the guests expressed wishes that ASEAN-China relations would continue to move toward a higher level and that ACC would score more achievements in its work.
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