The First Session of 2020 ACC Joint Executive Board Working Group Meeting Held

On 10 June 2020, the First Session of 2020 Joint Executive Board (JEB) Working Group Meeting of ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) was held at the ACC Secretariat. Representatives from Department of Asian Affairs of Foreign Affairs Ministry of China and embassies of ASEAN Member States in China attended the meeting. The meeting was hosted by Ms. Wang Hongliu, Director of General Affairs and Coordination Division of ACC, and co-chaired by Mr. Pham Ba Viet, representative of Embassy of Viet Nam in China and Mr. Ma Xiaohui, Deputy Director of Regional Cooperation Division of Department of Asian Affairs of Foreign Affairs Ministry of China. Heads of all divisions of ACC were present.

Ms. Wang Hongliu thanked JEB members for their strong support to ACC Secretariat. She noted that the outbreak of pandemic COVID-19 is an unprecedented challenge to the world. ASEAN Member States and China responded quickly and wasted no time rendering each other timely support and working in concert to cope with the spread of the pandemic. ACC has been following closely the communication and cooperation among the parties and keenly aware of the Joint Statement of the Special ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Summit on COVID-19 as well as the Joint Statement of the ASEAN and China Special Foreign Ministers' Meeting on COVID-19. ACC is willing to facilitate AMS and China to effectively implement the above-mentioned Joint Statements within its mandates, and looks forward to continued guidance and support from all JEB members.

Mr. Pham Ba Viet said that the pandemic had seriously affected the economy and public health of all countries. It’s of great significance that ASEAN and China have showed great solidarity in fighting against the virus. This year marks the ASEAN-China Year of Digital Economy Cooperation, which has been further highlighted in the context of the epidemic. He believed that new progress would be made in the ASEAN-China mutually beneficial cooperation.
 
Mr. Ma Xiaohui said that China and ASEAN had been standing closely together in difficult times and set a perfect example for global cooperation in the fight against the pandemic. To echo the theme of ASEAN-China Year of Digital Economy Cooperation, the two sides will carry out a series of activities to strengthen digital economy cooperation in public health, smart cities, artificial intelligence and e-commerce, with a view to achieving bigger progress in China-ASEAN relations.
 
Heads of ACC divisions reviewed the progress of each division since the 9th Joint Council Meeting held in December 2019 and outlined the work plan for the next stage. Representatives of JEB members commended the tremendous efforts made by ACC Secretariat, and put forward ideas and suggestions on the implementation of relevant cooperation projects in 2020. They pledged full support to and close collaboration with ACC Secretariat as always. By doing so, they wished to achieve even more fruitful achievements of ASEAN-China exchanges and cooperation in various fields.