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Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Foreign Ministry Liu Jinsong Attends the Reception in Celebrating the 11th Anniversary of the Establishment of the ASEAN-China Centre and the Assumption of Office of the New Secretary-General

2022-12-24 12:53

On December 23, 2022, Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Foreign Ministry Liu Jinsong attended the Reception in Celebrating the 11th Anniversary of the Establishment of the ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) and the Assumption of Office of the Secretary-General Shi Zhongjun, and delivered remarks. Diplomatic envoys of the ten ASEAN countries to China, among others, attended the event.

Liu Jinsong said that the current China-ASEAN relations have operated to high standard. After the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, President Xi Jinping paid a visit to Southeast Asia, which attracted worldwide attention. During his visit, President Xi had close interactions and reached important common understandings with leaders of ASEAN countries, giving a strong boost to the development of bilateral and multilateral relations between China and ASEAN countries.

Liu Jinsong stressed that mutual benefit is the most prominent feature of China-ASEAN cooperation. Last month, both sides announced the start of negotiations on the 3.0 version of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, demonstrating the leading role of China-ASEAN relations and injecting new impetus into the building of a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future. The two sides are now each other's largest trading partner, with trade volume in the first 11 months of this year reaching another new high of US$ 886.56 billion, a year-on-year increase of 12.5 percent. An increasing number of high-quality goods from ASEAN countries have become hot-sale products on China's e-commerce platforms. Liu said that China will further faciliate cross-border travel in light of the actual situation, and expressed the confidence that the economic and trade cooperation and cultural and people-to-people exchanges between the two sides will grow from strength to strength.

Liu Jinsong pointed out that next year marks the 10th anniversary of President Xi Jinping’s proposal of building a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future and China-ASEAN Belt and Road cooperation, and it is also the 20th anniversary of China signing and joining the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia. Liu stressed that China will continue to follow the principles of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness and the policy of forging friendships and partnerships with its neighbors, continue to take ASEAN as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy, and work with ASEAN countries to share opportunities, meet challenges, build “a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable home”, and build a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.

Liu Jinsong noted that as the only inter-governmental international organization between China and ASEAN, the ACC has leveraged its unique advantages in building bridges for exchanges and cooperation between various departments of the two sides in a spectrum of areas, and is becoming a propeller and an incubator for China-ASEAN relations. With China being the host country, the Chinese government will continue to provide support and conveniences to the Secretary-General in performing his duty and to the ACC in its operation; it also expects the ASEAN countries to provide support and conveniences to the Secretary-General in his work. Liu expressed the confidence that under the leadership of the new Secretary-General Shi Zhongjun, the Centre will actively implement the common understandings reached between Chinese and ASEAN leaders, integrate resources of the governments, industries and academic communities, help unlock the potential of practical cooperation in various fields, and promote cultural and people-to-people exchanges across the board,  to make greater contributions to the development of China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership.

On behalf of ASEAN, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Indonesian Embassy in China Minister Dino R. Kusnadi extended warm congratulations on the 11th anniversary of the establishment of the ACC and the assumption of office of Secretary-General Shi Zhongjun. He noted that ASEAN-China relations have developed vigorously in recent years, with enhanced political mutual trust, deepening economic cooperation, and ever closer cultural and people-to-people exchanges, making ASEAN and China true comprehensive strategic partners. ASEAN is ready to work with China to support the ACC in building bridges between the two sides and deepening cooperation in such areas as trade, investment, education, culture, tourism, information and media, and to jointly promote regional peace and prosperity.

Secretary-General Shi Zhongjun said that he felt it a great honor and responsibility to serve as ACC’s new Secretary-General, and that he would lead the Centre to uphold its founding mission, implement the important common understandings reached between Chinese and ASEAN leaders, deepen policy communication and coordination, foster greater synergy in development strategies, and promote practical cooperation in various fields between China and ASEAN, to enhance mutual trust and friendship and bring benefits to the people of the region.

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