General

The special foreign ministers’ meeting for the 30th anniversary of the establishment of dialogue relations between China and ASEAN was held in Chongqing on the 7th. The foreign ministers of China and ASEAN member states reviewed the achievements and experience of China and ASEAN’s 30-year cooperation, and focused on the main line of fighting the epidemic and economic recovery. China-ASEAN relations have in-depth communication and exchanges, and strive to push bilateral relations into a new stage of quality improvement and upgrading.

The establishment of a dialogue relationship between China and ASEAN has entered the "year of standing", which has a special significance for the relationship between the two sides. Since the beginning of this year, the interaction between China and ASEAN countries has strengthened, from the official visit of State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi to four Southeast Asian countries in January to the concentrated visits of the foreign ministers of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines to China from the end of March to the beginning of April. The holding of the offline special foreign ministers' meeting under the current severe epidemic situation by the two parties fully demonstrated the great importance and expectation of all parties on the development of China-ASEAN relations under the new situation.

In 1991, China was invited to attend the 24th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, which officially opened the dialogue process between China and ASEAN. With the joint efforts of both sides, China-ASEAN cooperation has achieved leapfrog development and has become the most successful and dynamic model of cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. This is inseparable from the fact that both parties always put each other first in their foreign relations; always put people first and focus on pragmatic cooperation; always uphold the spirit of partnership and work together to deal with major challenges; always adhere to open development and achieve mutual benefit and win-win; always take the overall situation as the It’s important to put the differences in place.

Since last year, in the face of the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, China and ASEAN have worked together and helped each other, and the relationship between the two sides has been further sublimated. At present, the anti-epidemic situation in ASEAN is still severe, and the more infectious mutated strains have put more pressure on ASEAN countries' epidemic prevention; the uneven distribution of the global new crown vaccine has caused ASEAN countries to be unable to quickly increase the vaccination rate and establish an immune barrier. Since the outbreak of the epidemic, China has overcome its own difficulties and 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. China's vaccines have become an important support for ASEAN to build the "Great Wall of Immunization" and bridge the "Immune Gap." China has stated that it will continue to unite with ASEAN countries to fight the epidemic, provide ASEAN countries with more vaccines, and carry out vaccine research and production, procurement, supervision and vaccination cooperation according to the needs of ASEAN.

To deepen anti-epidemic cooperation, promote economic recovery, improve the level of relations, reach the "South China Sea Code of Conduct" as soon as possible, insist on upholding multilateralism, and jointly promote Asian values. With regard to the development direction of China-ASEAN relations, China's proposals are both current and long-term. .

Against the backdrop of the epidemic, China and ASEAN’s economic, trade and investment cooperation has bucked the trend. The two sides are each other's largest trading partners and jointly promoted the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, leading the regional economic recovery. Since the beginning of this year, the epidemic has repeatedly severely impacted the economies of ASEAN countries. China, which is accelerating the construction of a new development pattern, will provide countries in the world including ASEAN countries with a larger market, more opportunities, and stronger momentum. It will also become an important guarantee for the recovery of ASEAN countries and regions after the economic epidemic. The ASEAN foreign ministers who participated in the special foreign ministers' meeting to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of dialogue relations between China and ASEAN expressed their willingness to better align development strategies with China and promote ASEAN-China relations to a higher level.

Taking history as a mirror, we can know the rise and fall; we can move forward together, and the future can be expected. The tree of friendship and cooperation planted by the establishment of dialogue relations between China and ASEAN 30 years ago is now flourishing and fruitful. Standing at a new historical starting point and looking to the next 30 years, China and ASEAN will be able to jointly realize, maintain, and develop a road of regional cooperation with East Asian characteristics, forge a higher level of China-ASEAN strategic partnership, and build a closer relationship. Community with a shared future.