ACC Representative Attended the China-ASEAN Women’s Forum 2021

On 12 September 2021, themed “Pool Women’s Strength to Jointly Build the Belt and Road”, the China-ASEAN Women’s Forum 2021 was held in Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Ms. Xia Jie, Vice President and Member of the Secretariat of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), Ms. Yang Jinghua, Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Mr. Li Chu, Mayor of Guilin, and Ms. Zin Mar Htwe, Deputy Chief of Mission and Minister Counsellor of the Embassy of Myanmar in China attended and addressed the opening ceremony. Nearly 140 people including officials from diplomatic missions of ASEAN Member States (AMS) in China, women representatives from all circles of China and AMS and the representative of the ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) were invited to attend to the event. 

Ms. Xia Jie mentioned that Chinese President Xi Jinping sent congratulatory letters to the 18th China-ASEAN Expo and the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, bringing the new blueprint for ASEAN-China relations and indicating the direction for building a higher level of strategic partnership. China will work with women of AMS to respond to the call of the times, deepen practical cooperation, help women to get rid of the side-effects of COVID-19 pandemic and ensure women’s equal right to share the fruits of development.

Ms. Zin Mar Htwe said that 2021 marked the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations and practical cooperation in various fields has been deepened. China has been the largest trade partner of ASEAN for 12 consecutive years and ASEAN became China’s largest trade partner in 2020. At this forum, both sides could share experience and ideas, which will certainly deepen the friendly exchanges and cooperation between China and AMS. 

Focused on “Women and Sustainable Development in the New Situation”, guests conducted deep exchanges and discussions at the forum. Ms. Rukmini Tri Setiati, Minister Counsellor of the Embassy of Indonesia, and Mr. Phoxay Thepvilayvong, Counsellor (Culture and Education) of the Embassy of Lao PDR, delivered keynote speeches. 14 Women's Federations of Chinese provinces, autonomous regions and cities signed a Memorandum on Joint Efforts of Women’s Federations to Serve the Belt and Road Initiative, aiming to build a long-term and effective cooperation mechanism for facilitating the sustainable development of women and strengthening the women’s friendship between China and ASEAN. 

The guests visited the ecological protection in the Lijiang River Basin, the models of rural transformation in Li Village and Jiwodu Village, and the women's innovation and entrepreneurship in Huangluoyao Village and Jinzhuzhuang Village.

（source：Guangxi Women wechat official account）