Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung (fifth, left) and other officials pose for a photo at the ASEAN-China Senior Officials' Consultation in Hangzhou on May 19 (Photo: VNA)Beijing (VNA) – Senior officials of the Associationof Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China held a consultation in Hangzhoucity, China’s Zhejiang province, on May 19 to review cooperation, discussmeasures to promote partnership, and prepare for the ASEAN-China post ministerialconference this August.
The Vietnamese delegation was led by DeputyForeign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung, who on behalf of ASEAN delivered an introductoryspeech on political-security cooperation, putting forth important orientationsfor enhancing ASEAN-China ties in this regard.
At the event, participants applauded the stridesin implementing the instructions issued by the 21st ASEAN-China Summit in Singaporelast November and the ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership Vision 2030.
With 47 cooperation mechanisms in variousspheres, the ASEAN-China strategic partnership has been being carried outstrongly, they noted.
China has continually been the top trade partnerof ASEAN with bilateral trade reaching 436.8 billion USD in 2017, accountingfor 17 percent of the bloc’s total trade. With 11.3 billion USD of investmentcapital poured in ASEAN countries in 2017, China is also the third biggestinvestor of ASEAN.
The number of tourists between the two sides hasalways surpassed 10 million each year. Many people-to-people and youthexchanges, along with educational, cultural and media exchanges, have been heldsuch as the ASEAN-China Education Cooperation Week, the ASEAN-China Youth Camp2018, and the ASEAN-China Year of Media Exchange 2019.
Regarding orientations for future cooperation,the two sides agreed to press on with realising the ASEAN-China StrategicPartnership Vision 2030. Accordingly, they will realise the ASEAN-China Plan ofAction 2016-2020 and strive to raise bilateral trade to 1 trillion USD andbilateral investment to 150 billion USD in 2020.
They will also focus their cooperation ondigital economy, e-commerce, cyber security, connectivity promotion,infrastructure building, transportation, development of the Greater MekongSub-region, support for small- and medium-sized enterprises, agriculture,innovation, and negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership(RCEP).
China presented cooperation proposals in termsof smart city building, media exchange, and connection of its Belt and RoadInitiative with ASEAN’s development plans.
Discussing the regional and internationalsituation, ASEAN and China affirmed the necessity to build and consolidate anopen, transparent, inclusive and rules-based regional architecture.
China voiced its support for the grouping’scentral role and noted its hope for a united and unanimous ASEAN and a strongASEAN Community. ASEAN countries also highly valued China’s role andparticipation in ASEAN-led forums. They hoped that China will continue makingactive and responsible contributions to peace, stability and sustainabledevelopment in the region.
The event also recognised the outcomes of the ASEAN-Chinasenior official’s meeting on the implementation of the Declaration on theConduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), along with the progress in building aCode of Conduct (COC) in the waters.
Participants agreed on the need to fullyimplement the DOC and soon finalise an efficient and substantive COC supportedby the international community.
Many countries stressed the importance of peace,stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation in the EastSea. They called on relevant parties to exercise self-restraint, cooperate tobuild trust, avoid complicating the situation, and resolve disputes by peacefulmeans on the basis on international law, including the 1982 United NationsConvention on the Law of the Sea.-VNA
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