First ASEAN Development Forum Held in Hong Kong

[Asia-Pacific Daily News] The first ASEAN Development Forum hosted by Xinhua News Agency Asia-Pacific Headquarters was held in Hong Kong on the 13th. Government officials, experts, scholars, and business people from the 10 ASEAN countries, Hong Kong business representatives and relevant experts and scholars from mainland China attended the forum. Participants of the forum organized the theme of “Building a Mutual Trust to Build a Destiny Community” on the theme of this forum. They gave speeches on issues of common interest and held heated discussions.

Government officials, experts and scholars from the ten ASEAN countries, people from the business community, Hong Kong business representatives and relevant experts and scholars from the Mainland of China attended the forum.
 
    At the Forum's address, Xinhua News Agency’s Asia-Pacific General Director Ju Mengjun said that the initiative and hosting of the ASEAN Development Forum aims to build a platform for mutual exchange among guests from different countries. The first ASEAN Development Forum is based on the theme of “Building mutual trust and creating a community of destiny”. It aims to promote mutual understanding, build up understanding through the in-depth exchanges, and promote the building of a community of mutual trust, close cooperation, mutual benefit and win-win results with the wisdom of the times and new concepts. .
    All Mengjun said that in today's world, development is the theme, cooperation is the prerequisite, and mutual trust is the foundation. Throughout the world, the most active and effective cooperation is geographically close neighbors and regional cooperation. ASEAN is such a regional cooperation organization. Today, this unique community is accelerating the process of integration in accordance with the blueprint of the "ASEAN Charter," and its international influence is increasingly reflected. ASEAN countries, ASEAN and East Asia, and ASEAN and the world are interconnected and interoperable, and more countries have come together to solve common problems. This is the progress of international relations and human society.

Xinhua News Agency, Asia-Pacific General Branch, President Ju Mengjun delivered a speech.

    Participants from China stated that ASEAN is the largest group of countries around China. The friendly cooperation between China and ASEAN is a banner of East Asian regional cooperation. In the 10 years since the “Golden Cooperation” was hand in hand, the China-ASEAN relationship has entered a new historical stage, and the mutually beneficial strategic partnership is moving toward depth and breadth. Build an upgraded version of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, build a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, realize interconnection, and create a “Diamond Ten Years” for China-ASEAN all-round strategic cooperation. This is the political will of China and ASEAN countries and it is also a region. The common aspirations of all peoples. It is believed that China-ASEAN cooperation of mutual trust, mutual benefit, and mutual benefit will surely produce new and fruitful results.

Chinese Ambassador to ASEAN Yang Xiuping delivered a keynote speech.

Former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand and Chairman of the Thailand-China Friendship Association Gong Taparancei delivered a keynote speech.

The Honorary President of the Chinese General Chamber of Hong Kong and Chairman of the Xinhua Group Cai Guanshen delivered a keynote speech.

    This forum is divided into four major topics: building mutual trust and building a community of destiny; deepening economic and trade cooperation, enhancing China-ASEAN free trade zone construction; promoting interconnection and interoperability and building a maritime Silk Road; accelerating pragmatic cooperation and building an ASEAN community.

Chinese Ambassador to ASEAN Yang Xiuping, former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, Chairman of the Thailand-China Friendship Association Gong Tapalanxi, Consul General of Singapore in Hong Kong Fu Guangyi, and Honorary President of the Chinese General Chamber of Hong Kong, Chairman of the Xinhua Group Cai Guanshen etc. Keynote Speech. The Indonesian ambassador to China, Sugen Rahalzo, sent a congratulatory message to the forum and sent a representative to read his speech.

    Participants pointed out that China-ASEAN relations are at a new historical starting point, and the mutually beneficial strategic partnership is developing in depth and breadth. However, in the context of geopolitical changes, there have also been murmurs of this kind or another in the region. Some controversial regional issues have been heated up from time to time. This has, to some extent, interfered with the process of regional integration and China and ASEAN. Mutual trust and cooperation.

The first session of the ASEAN Development Forum.

     Participants believed that various cooperation mechanisms in the region, such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), will complement each other and coordinate development; how to eliminate interference, Build mutual trust, promote the further development of China-ASEAN relations, handle regional hot issues by peaceful negotiation, maintain regional economic prosperity, and maintain regional peace and stability. This is a subject that China and ASEAN countries need to face and solve.

     Experts and scholars attending the forum and people in the industrial and commercial circles also discussed how Hong Kong can play its own advantages in the construction of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area Update, how to further integrate into the mainland and the outside world, and maintain its international competitiveness.