ASEAN, China commemorate 15th anniversary of Strategic Partnership

By APD writer Maverick

**JAKARTA, April 9 (APD) ** — China and Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) commemorated 15th anniversary of the two economies’ strategic partnership, highly expecting to eventually make the partnership to play a strategic role in boosting East Asia cooperation and safeguarding regional stability.

The expectation was conveyed by China Ambassador to ASEAN Huang Xilian in a seminar to commemorate the anniversary held here on Monday.

He added that China would further explore possibilities to further expand the cooperation in security sector as well as accelerating the process of negotiations for the creation of Regional Comprehensive Partnership.

He said that cooperation in those fields should be referred to the region’s characteristics

"We can map out a blueprint for East Asia Economic Community vision to enhance multilateral trade system and economic integration, brushing aside temptations for unilateralism and protectionism," Xilian said.

He added that the currently-formulated " China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership Vision 2030 " can serve as the bridge to integrate future visions of the two economies, comprised of China’s Two Centenary Goals and ASEAN Community Vision 2025.

"We should also look it for the long run, mapping out the shared visions that reflects our people’s aspirations, serving as the the beacon for the growth of our relations," he said.

As “Year of Innovation” has been declared to highlight China-ASEAN relations this year, he commended both sides to initiate strategic moves aimed at further enhancing mutual collaborations in areas of industrial technology, digital technology, smart cities and cultural products.

Meanwhile, in his turn to speak, Director General for ASEAN Affairs at Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry Jose Antonio Tavares was upbeat to see more intensive cooperation between the two economies in the future.

He added that since welcoming China as its dialogue partner in 1990s, the two economies saw significant cooperation enhancement in various sectors, including in economy, politics and security.

He said that China now is a significant source of direct investments in ASEAN nations as well as main export destinations.

Since the declaration of Strategic Partnership in the 7th China-ASEAN Summit held in Indonesia’s Bali in 2003, the two economies have expanded cooperation in sectors of anti-corruption drive, disaster management, health and environmental protection, he added.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)