On June 7, 2021, at the special foreign ministers’ meeting for the 30th anniversary of the establishment of dialogue relations between China and ASEAN, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated that in the past 30 years, China and ASEAN have moved forward hand in hand, and the connotation of the strategic partnership has been continuously enriched. Cooperation in the three major areas of trade and society and humanities has yielded fruitful results.

China and ASEAN move forward hand in hand

Wang Yi said that we have established a three-dimensional dialogue mechanism at all levels, including leaders, ministers, and senior officials, to conduct strategic communication on major issues in a timely manner, and build a solid foundation for the development of bilateral relations. Our trade volume jumped from less than 8 billion US dollars to 684.6 billion US dollars, an increase of more than 80 times. Our personnel exchanges have exceeded 65 million in 2019, and there are nearly 4,500 flights between China and Southeast Asia every week. The two sides exchanged more than 200,000 foreign students and formed more than 200 pairs of sister cities.

Wang Yi emphasized that in the past 30 years, with the efforts of both sides, we have become the largest trading partner, the most connotative partner, and the most dynamic strategic partner. The achievements are hard to come by, and the experience is precious. The achievement of the above results is mainly due to:

One is to always put the other party in the first place in foreign relations. China pursues a policy of good-neighborliness and friendship with neighboring countries, and it is the tradition of China's diplomacy to use neighbors as partners and be kind to neighbors. President Xi Jinping further proposed the diplomatic concept of closeness, sincerity and inclusiveness, demonstrating China's sincere attitude. Among the ASEAN dialogue partners, China has created a number of “firsts”: the first to join the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, the first to establish a strategic partnership with ASEAN, the first to negotiate the establishment of a free trade area with ASEAN, the first This clearly supports ASEAN’s central position in regional cooperation, and is the first to publicly express its willingness to sign the protocol of the Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty. The rapid development of China-ASEAN relations has also led other major forces to increase their investment in ASEAN, which has improved ASEAN’s international status, promoted the unity and cooperation of all parties, and expanded the international influence of East Asia.

The second is to always put people first and focus on pragmatic cooperation. Persist in putting the fundamental interests of the 2 billion people of China and the 11 ASEAN countries first, and promote practical cooperation in all fields in all aspects. The Belt and Road Initiative and the master plan of ASEAN interconnection have been accelerated, and a large number of key projects that are grounded and beneficial to the people's livelihood have been implemented steadily. The role of platforms and mechanisms such as China-ASEAN Expo, China-ASEAN Education Exchange Week, and China-ASEAN Elite Scholarship has been continuously deepened. China has also established China-ASEAN Cooperation Fund, China-ASEAN Maritime Cooperation Fund, and Special Fund for Asian Regional Cooperation. These have brought tangible benefits to the people of both sides.

The third is to always uphold the spirit of partnership and work together to tackle major challenges. We see the true feelings in adversity. We are in the same boat and overcome the difficulties together, and together we have overcome two sudden crises such as the financial turmoil, the Indian Ocean tsunami, and SARS. With practical actions, we have interpreted the brotherhood of each other and the meaning of mutual assistance in the neighborhood. Especially in the fight against the new crown pneumonia epidemic, China and ASEAN countries have helped each other and cheered each other. Overcoming its own difficulties, China has actively provided anti-epidemic materials and technical assistance to ASEAN countries, and has delivered more than 100 million doses of new coronavirus vaccines to ASEAN countries. In the process of overcoming challenges together, we have deepened friendship, mutual trust and common interests.

The fourth is to always adhere to open development and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results. Seizing the opportunities brought about by the rapid development of economic globalization and maintaining a high level of opening to the outside world, we are both staunch promoters of regional cooperation and economic globalization. We actively participated in the value chain of the global industrial chain, built the largest free trade zone among developing countries and continued to upgrade, built a regional production base with North America and Europe, and created a miracle of prosperity and development in East Asia. We have created a regional economic cooperation platform, vigorously promoted East Asian economic integration, and successfully signed the Regional Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), becoming a leading force in safeguarding free trade, multilateralism and international cooperation.

Fifth, always put the overall situation first and put the differences in the right place. Neighbors will inevitably bump into each other. Based on the principle of mutual respect, we have established a multi-level communication and dialogue mechanism, properly handled and managed differences through consultation, and maintained the general direction of friendly cooperation. We actively expand the scope of cooperation in bilateral relations, enlarge the cooperation pie, expand common interests, and strive to promote the formation of an interactive model that transcends differences and moves toward win-win results. We earnestly implemented the "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" and actively promoted consultations on the "Code of Conduct in the South China Sea". This proves that China and ASEAN countries have the ability to transform their contradictions into cooperation and demonstrate their common will to maintain regional peace and stability.

The ASEAN foreign ministers fully affirmed the fruitful results achieved in the 30 years of ASEAN-China dialogue relations, and thanked China for its strong support and assistance for the integration and development of ASEAN and regional interconnection. They expressed that the ASEAN-China relationship is the best among ASEAN-China dialogue partnerships. The important and most fruitful relationship has become an important pillar of regional peace, stability, development and prosperity. ASEAN countries are willing to work with China to implement the "ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership Vision 2030" and the "ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity Action Plan (2021-2025)" to better align development strategies and promote ASEAN- China's relations have gone to the next level. Editor/Tian Zengpeng