Sunday, July 10, 2011

20th Anniversary of China-ASEAN Dialogue Relations

A forum in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of China-Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) dialogue relations was held at JW Marriott Hotel, Jakarta, 6 July. More than 200 experts, scholars, and people from different sectors from China and ASEAN attended the forum. Also present in the forum were Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia Zhang Qiyue; deputy director of the Chinese State Council's Information Office, Wang Zhongwei; Indonesian Foreign Ministry Director General for ASEAN Cooperation, Djauhari Oratmangun; chairman of the Indonesian World Affairs Council, Ibrahim Yusuf, and Tong Xiaoling, Chinese Ambassador to ASEAN.
All-Round Dialogue
Zhang concluded the 20 years that China and ASEAN have been through. She said that throughout the 20 years, peaceful development and friendly cooperation have been the theme and emphasis in the China-ASEAN relations.
The past two decades witnessed the development of China-ASEAN relations from all-round dialogue partners to good neighborly partners with mutual trust and to strategic partners. China and ASEAN have had pragmatic cooperation in more than 20 sectors including trade and economy, investment, agriculture, and finance, and become the most populated and most extensive free trade area.
China’s Unwaveringly Support
Zhang stressed that while taking pride of the achievements made in the past 20 years, China and ASEAN should cherish the rare favorable conditions by working together to promote the further development of the China-ASEAN relations. China will unwaveringly support ASEAN's leading role in the East Asian cooperation and support the establishment of the ASEAN Community.
As always, China will also provide aids to ASEAN countries, help ASEAN countries bring closer the development gap, and step up pragmatic cooperation with ASEAN in sectors including economy and trade, investment, and communications.
Cooperation in Various Sectors
In his speech, Ibrahim Yusuf said that the dialogue relations between China and ASEAN was first established 20 years ago when the then Chinese state councilor and Foreign Minister Qian Qichen attended the 24th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on invitation. Since then, China and ASEAN have seen rapid progress in their cooperation in various areas including trade, transport, security, and human resources.
Among others, the development in cultural exchanges has been the most notable. It is very important for China and ASEAN to establish good-neighborly and friendly cooperative ties. ASEAN countries hope that they could boost their relations with China in the future.

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