Official says more cooperation will bolster regional stability, prosperity

As China continues to promote high-quality development and expand high-level opening-up, its cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will see broader opportunities and further boost stability and prosperity in the region as well as across the world, according to a senior official.

Shi Zhongjun, secretary-general of the ASEAN-China Center, said that China and the ASEAN countries, which are all key members of the Global South and at a critical stage of pursuing national revitalization, represent development opportunities for each other.

"I have visited the 10 ASEAN member states since taking office in 2022. What impressed me the most is that all of them, regardless of their distinct national conditions and different cooperation priorities, have the same strong desire to collaborate with China," he told China Daily in a written interview.

On the journey to modernization, China and ASEAN have always been good friends and partners who can trust each other, support each other, and move forward side by side, Shi said.

Since the establishment of dialogue relations in 1991, China and ASEAN have become a fertile ground for cooperation, showcasing the most fruitful, profound and substantive partnership in the Asia-Pacific region, and are leading in regional economic growth, he said.

Noting that the economy and trade serve as the ballast and the propeller of China-ASEAN relations, Shi said the two sides have been each other's largest trading partners for four consecutive years as well as each other's significant sources of investment.

Data from the General Administration of Customs showed that in the first seven months of 2024, the trade volume of goods between China and ASEAN increased 10.5 percent year-on-year. It also showed that China's investment in ASEAN countries surged 44.6 percent last year, while the cumulative two-way investment exceeded $380 billion.

Shi said that while strengthening practical cooperation in traditional areas such as the economy, trade, investment and infrastructure, the two sides should also tap the cooperation potential in emerging fields such as the digital economy, green energy, artificial intelligence and the blue economy.

He said that by doing so, China and ASEAN could foster new growth drivers and better play the roles of important economic growth engines in the region and the world.

Seven rounds of negotiations have been held on the 3.0 version of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area since November 2022.

"I believe that the in-depth advancement of negotiations will help build an inclusive, modern, comprehensive and mutually beneficial China-ASEAN market, and boost the China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership," Shi said.

Highlighting people-to-people exchanges as the third pillar of China-ASEAN relations, after political and economic cooperation, he said that China and ASEAN countries are working together to promote mutual understanding and friendship among more than 2 billion people.

"People-to-people exchanges are not just vital spiritual bonds that are continually rejuvenating between China and ASEAN countries, but also form the solid foundation for the growth of bilateral ties and the creation of an even better future for all," Shi said, noting that exchanges and cooperation in areas including culture, tourism, education and the media have yielded fruitful outcomes.

He said that China and the ASEAN member states have taken coordinated actions to encourage the orderly and free flow of tourists in the region.

China signed visa-exemption agreements with Thailand and Singapore in January, and announced the extension of its visa-exemption policy for residents of Malaysia in June.

In the first half of the year, the number of direct flights between China and ASEAN countries reached more than 2,300 per week, and China regained its position as the largest source of tourists for Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, Shi added.