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China, ASEAN seek to boost connectivity
More than 140 representatives from government departments, enterprises, banks, and think tanks of China and the 10 ASEAN countries and the ASEAN Secretariat have discussed issues surrounding China-ASEAN connectivity and systems establishment, industrial and trade ties, and local government initiatives.
The China-ASEAN Strategic Seminar on Connectivity was held in Beijing in August. The seminar was co-hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China and the People's Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and was organised by China Foreign Affairs University and the China-ASEAN Expo Secretariat.
Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Mr Liu Zhenmin said China-ASEAN cooperation and connectivity is intensive, strategic, and wide ranging.
In the past 20 years since the establishment of China-ASEAN dialogue relations, both sides have had pragmatic and cooperative relations in more than 20 fields, and co-built a series of cooperation platforms including the China-ASEAN Expo, to promote the economic and social development of all countries concerned.
As strategic partners, China and ASEAN states have included both hardware and software in their connectivity. Hardware connectivity refers to the connectivity of infrastructure and transportation networks, while software connectivity includes the connectivity of different systems and people-to-people exchanges.
In recent years, both sides have seen positive results in their joint efforts to build the China-ASEAN FTA and to promote exchanges and cooperation via diverse channels like non-government organisations, according to the secretariat.
This seminar provided a fundamental opportunity for both sides to implement greater strategic cooperation in the field of connectivity.
Resident representatives of the 10 ASEAN member states, ASEAN envoys in China, representatives of ASEAN governments, business and academic circles and the ASEAN Secretariat, officials from Chinese ministries/departments and local governments, renowned entrepreneurs and scholars pooled their collective wisdom at the seminar.
Discussions produced conducive, forward-looking and feasible suggestions for promoting the connectivity of local infrastructure networks for regional economic integration.
Chen Wu, Standing Member of the Chinese Communist Party Guangxi Committee and Vice Governor of Guangxi, the host province of the China-ASEAN Expo, said in a speech that Guangxi would like to take the opportunity to make the China-ASEAN Expo a better platform for the connectivity of Guangxi and the 10 ASEAN member states.
China and ASEAN states have conducted fruitful cooperation in the field of connectivity in the past 20 years since the establishment of their dialogue relations, which has provided a guarantee for the friendly exchanges, trade cooperation and people-to-people communication of both sides. In the past 20 years, the largest FTA of developing countries was completed; pragmatic cooperation was found in over 20 fields; 11 MOUs were agreed on, and a series of cooperation platforms were formed including the China-ASEAN Expo, Education Exchange Week and the Forum on Cultural Industry.
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