ACC Secretary-General Chen Dehai Attended the Conference on Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations

On 28 July 2021, Mr. Chen Dehai, Secretary-General of the ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), attended the Conference on Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations in Beijing. With the theme of “ASEAN-China Cooperation over the Past 30 Years: History and Experience”, the conference was hosted by China Institute of International Studies (CIIS) online and offline. Mr. Wang Yi, State Councilor and Foreign Minister of China, and Dato Lim Jock Hoi, Secretary-General of ASEAN, addressed the opening ceremony of the conference online. Mr. Hoon Chang Yau, Director of the Centre for Advanced Research at Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Mr. Chhem Kieth Rethy, Minister attached to the Prime Minister of Cambodia, Mr. Jusuf Wanandi, Co-founder of Centre for Strategic and International Studies of Indonesia, Mr. Liu Jinsong, Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, Mr. Zhang Yunling, Academy Member of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Mr. Xu Bu, President of CIIS, and more than 100 experts and scholars from influential think tanks and universities in China and ASEAN Member States (AMS) as well as diplomatic representatives from the ten AMS embassies in China attended the event.

Mr. Lim Jock Hoi fully acknowledged the achievements of ASEAN and China’s cooperation in political security, economic and socio-cultural areas over the past 30 years. He stressed that ASEAN-China relations are one of the most substantive and dynamic partnerships in the region, and highly valued China's strong supports for regional integration and multilateralism. He noted that in the past two years, the mutual efforts in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic fully demonstrated the solidarity and friendship of ASEAN and China. In the future, the two sides should continue to expand trade and investment cooperation, strengthen the synergy of development plans and inter-connectivity cooperation, push forward the implementation of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), deepen cooperation in various fields, such as innovation, digital economy, smart city network, new energy and public health, and vigorously enhance people-to-people exchanges to advance ASEAN-China strategic partnership to new heights.

Mr. Chen Dehai said ASEAN and China have respected and trusted each other for 30 years, achieving leapfrog development in their relations. The two sides have achieved mutual success and win-win cooperation, contributing to regional prosperity. ASEAN and China have stood with each other in solidarity, constantly turning crises into opportunities for cooperation. He pointed out that, among factors accounting for the progress of ASEAN-China relations, political trust is an important cornerstone. Mutual benefit and win-win cooperation serves as a significant principle. People-to-people exchanges provide indispensable bonds. Innovation cooperation represents a key driving force. As ASEAN-China relations have entered a new historical stage, ACC is willing to move forward side by side with all partners to make solid progress in exchanges and cooperation in various fields of the two sides to advance ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership to a higher level.

Reviewing the remarkable achievements since the establishment of ASEAN-China dialogue relations, experts and scholars at the conference summarized successful experiences and looked forward to a bright future with inputs and suggestions. They agreed that ASEAN-China relations have grown extensively over the last three decades. It was inspiring to witness the extraordinary achievements and the great contributions to peace, development and prosperity in the East Asian Region, as the two sides have been expanding collaboration areas, enriching its contents and deepening the level. In the process, the two sides committed themselves to dialogue, consultation and cooperation, and have successfully promoted various agendas, accumulating rich experiences. Looking ahead, the potential of ASEAN-China cooperation will be further unleashed. All partners are required to step up their efforts to make greater contributions to the development of ASEAN-China relations.