Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, September 20th (International Observation) China-ASEAN cooperation is full of fruits
Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Jiawei Guo Yifan Huang Haoming
More than 1,600 companies participated in offline exhibitions, nearly 100 online and offline economic and trade activities, and a total exhibition area of more than 100,000 square meters… The four-day 19th China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit came to an end on the 19th. .
Under the background of the effective implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the scale of the China-ASEAN Expo as a dialogue and exchange window and an economic and trade investment platform between China and ASEAN has continued to expand, and its international participation has continued to increase. Industrialization and trade and investment facilitation have injected surging impetus. International observers believe that under the vision of China-ASEAN mutual benefit and shared destiny, the closer cooperation between the two sides in various fields has reaped fruitful results and spread to all sides.
Provide solid guarantee for regional cooperation with mature mechanism
China and ASEAN have established dialogue relations for more than 30 years. The two sides have continuously strengthened cooperation in economic and trade exchanges, investment cooperation, connectivity and other fields, and continued to innovate, establish and improve relevant mechanisms to open up a broader space for China-ASEAN cooperation and provide regional cooperation. Solid guarantee.
Carrying the mission of promoting the construction of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, the CAEXPO has been held for 19 consecutive sessions. The stable and mature mechanism for organizing the conference has made the CAEXPO increasingly an important platform for dialogue and cooperation between China and ASEAN, helping exhibitors from various countries to continuously reach new cooperation, and promoting the steady and long-term development of regional economic and trade cooperation.
Philippine President Marcos delivered a video speech at the opening ceremony of the CAEXPO, saying that the CAEXPO has strengthened cooperation between China and ASEAN in various fields, and has become a “touchstone” for Philippine products to enter the Chinese market, benefiting many Philippine companies. He also said that he hoped to attract more Chinese enterprises to invest in the Philippines through the China-ASEAN Expo.
This year marks the first year of the China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership and the first year for the RCEP to take effect. As a free trade agreement that China and ASEAN have actively participated in and promoted to take effect, RCEP will help build a more open, free, and mutually beneficial market environment. Li Yan, Chairman of Petronas China, said that RCEP is conducive to promoting regional industrial circulation, division of labor and cooperation, forming a complementary mechanism for resources and technology, and enabling member states to give full play to their advantages in international trade.
Looking back on the past, in the process of building and improving the cooperation mechanism between China and ASEAN, from the construction of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area to the signing and entry into force of RCEP, from the promotion of the “Belt and Road” initiative to the joint construction of new international land-sea trade channels… China and ASEAN ASEAN strongly supports regional cooperation and development with mature and effective cooperation mechanisms.
Provide inexhaustible power for common development with fruitful results
In 2019, the 19th China-ASEAN Expo, Vietnam Central Plains Coffee has never been absent. With the help of the platform of the China-ASEAN Expo, the company has launched a brand and opened up the market. “The CAEXPO will vigorously promote the development of enterprises in China,” said Le Vuqiang, Sales Director of the Shanghai Representative Office of Vietnam Zhongyuan Group Co., Ltd.
Under the new mode of combining online and offline, the “China-ASEAN Expo that never ends in 365 days” has borne fruitful results. A total of 267 international and domestic cooperation projects were signed at this year’s CAEXPO, with a total investment of over 400 billion yuan, an increase of 37% over the previous session. The total investment of the signed projects hit a new high, adding further impetus to regional cooperation and global economic development.
Heng Swee Keat, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policy of Singapore, said that the current world is facing multiple challenges, and the CAEXPO is an important platform for China and ASEAN to expand new opportunities and provide opportunities for both sides to study the direction of future economic and trade cooperation. Through the CAEXPO platform, both sides can effectively meet current challenges and contribute to the growth and common development of the region and the world.
Today, China and ASEAN, as the world’s second and fifth largest economies respectively, contribute more than 30% to the global economy. Despite the complex and volatile international environment, bilateral trade has maintained an upward momentum, contributing to the development of the world economy. Statistics show that in the first eight months of this year, the total trade value between China and ASEAN was 4.09 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 14%; as of the end of July this year, the cumulative two-way investment exceeded 340 billion US dollars.
The increasingly close exchanges and dialogues between the two sides, the increasingly diversified areas of cooperation, and the rising economic and trade data are providing inexhaustible impetus for boosting regional economic development, which will bring benefits to the 2 billion people in the region. Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Don Pramudwinai said that strengthening the relationship between ASEAN and China will help regional economic recovery and improve the resilience of economic development.
With the concept of win-win for the regional stability and development of joint forces
As good neighbors, good friends and good partners, China and ASEAN have developed friendly cooperative relations and are committed to promoting win-win development. With the theme of “Sharing New Opportunities of RCEP and Boosting China-ASEAN Free Trade Area Version 3.0”, this year’s CAEXPO demonstrates the important consensus of both sides on high-quality implementation of RCEP and their determination to improve the quality and upgrade of economic and trade cooperation and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.
Lao Deputy Prime Minister Song Sai said that China’s initiatives and ideas have further tapped the growth potential of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, narrowed the development gap among ASEAN member states, and further integrated ASEAN and China for development.
Win-win cooperation is the only way for Asia’s development. Adhering to the concept of inclusiveness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, China-ASEAN relations have always played a leading and exemplary role in regional cooperation, setting the most dynamic, fruitful and promising regional cooperation benchmark. Cai Weicai, senior vice president of Kasikorn Bank of Thailand, believes that ASEAN and China are two very important and large-scale markets with great potential in the future. The close cooperation between the two markets will play an important role in promoting the long-term prosperity and stability of the world economy.
For more than 30 years, the core of the successful practice of China-ASEAN relations is to enhance mutual trust, coordinate and cooperate, and seek common prosperity. This guides the direction of regional economic development, conforms to the common interests and demands of regional development, and brings together a strong development synergy to build a China-ASEAN community with a shared future.
Gather people’s hearts and gather strength. As a big family connected by mountains and rivers and sharing a common destiny, China and ASEAN move forward hand in hand, uphold the common vision to meet development opportunities, and jointly build the “Five Homes” of peace, tranquility, prosperity, beauty and friendship. (Participating reporters: Zhu Lili, Zhao Huan, Wang Yaguang)
(Wang Jiawei Guo Yifan Huang Haoming)
[Editor in charge: Xu Dan]