People’s Republic of China Ambassador to ASEAN Hou Yanqi led a China-ASEAN Media Salon at the Chinese Mission to ASEAN in Jakarta on Friday, Aug. 18. In a press briefing, Ambassador Hou discussed the progress of China-ASEAN cooperation in various fields, as well as expectations for the upcoming leaders’ meetings on East Asia Cooperation.
She opened the meeting by expressing her support for Indonesia as the ASEAN chair this year and stated that she expects continuous cooperation and a deepened relationship between China and member countries, which she hopes will be further discussed at the summit planned for September.
In line with the theme chosen by Indonesia, “ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth,” Hou expects the meetings to focus on dialogue and cooperation to promote development and prosperity and therefore bring more stability and certainty about what the future holds.
Furthermore, she reiterated President Xi Jinping’s proposal of jointly building a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable environment, evidenced by China’s move to promote the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ). The ambassador informed the media of the long diplomatic history between China and ASEAN member countries, especially through frequent high-level exchanges.
China and ASEAN organized grand commemorative activities to mark the 20th anniversary of China’s accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), in order to continue to jointly uphold and promote the TAC spirit and safeguard lasting peace in the region. Ambassador Hou also gave a comprehensive introduction to China’s support for ASEAN’s community building in the three pillars of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC), the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and the ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC) that were first created to ensure more equity and harmony in the region.
China has been a partner of several member countries in areas such as growth and has formed partnerships in the fields of new energy, the digital economy and science and technology innovation through both state-owned and local companies in the region. China has vigorously promoted exchanges and cooperation with ASEAN in education, science and technology, culture, youth, poverty reduction and tourism.
While bringing the event to a close, she introduced the Global Development Initiative (GDI), the Global Security Initiative (GSI) and the Global Civilization Initiative (GSI) proposed by President Xi, stressing China’s willingness to work with ASEAN countries to build a tighter-knit community with a shared future.
She also highlighted the organizations shared between ASEAN and China, such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), reiterating the mutual benefits that are enjoyed by Indonesia and China in both projects.
Source: The Jakarta Post