ASEAN Development Forum Held in HK

**

Ju Mengjun gives speech on ASEAN Development Forum.**

OnChina-ASEANCo-developmentPath---FirstASEANDevelopmentForumHeldinHongKong

ThefirstASEAN(theAssociationofSoutheastAsianNations)DevelopmentForum,hostedbytheAsiaPacificBranchofXinhuaNewsAgency,washeldinHongKongonDecember13th.Theforumwasattendedbygovernmentofficials,experts,scholars,andbusinesspeoplefromthetenASEANcountries,aswellasrepresentativesofHongKong’sbusinesscommunityandrelatedexpertsandscholarsfromthemainlandofChina.FocusingonthethemeofBuildingamutuallytrustedcommunitywithcommondestiny,theparticipantsmadespeechesanddiscussionsonissuesofcommonconcern.

JuMengjun,directorofXinhuaNewsAgencyAsiaPacificRegionalBureau,saidinhisspeechthattheobjectiveofproposingandhostingthisforumistobuildaplatformforguestsfromdifferentcountriestocommunicatewitheachother.

ThefirstASEANDevelopmentForum,withbuildingamutuallytrustedcommunitywithcommondestinyasthetheme,aimsatenhancingexchangesandunderstanding.Byabsorbingthewisdomandbrandnewconceptsofthetimes,itfacilitatesthebuildingofacommunitywithcommondestinybasedonmutualtrust,closecooperationandmutualbenefits.

DirectorJusaidthatnowadaysdevelopmentisthetheme,cooperationistheprerequisiteandmutualtrustisthefundamental.Itisobviousthatthemostactiveandeffectivecooperationintheworldistheregionaloneamongfriendlyneighboringcountries,suchasthatamongtheASEANcountries.FollowingtheblueprintofASEANCharter,thisdistinctivecommunityspeedsupitsunificationanddemonstratesitsincreasinginternationalinfluence.TheASEANcountriesnowcommunicateandcoordinatemorewitheachother,andwithotherAsiancountriesandthewholeworld,whichmarksagreatprogressofinternationalrelationshipandhumansocietyformorecountriesarediscussingtogethertosolvetheircommonproblems.

TheChineseattendeessaidthatASEANisthelargestinternationalorganizationontheperipheryofChina.ThefriendlyrelationshipbetweenthetwoisabannerofAsianregionalcooperation.TheChinaASEANmutuallybeneficialstrategicpartnership,aftertenyearsofGoldCooperationhasenteredanewhistoricalphase,extendinginbothdepthandwidth.ItisthepoliticalwillofthetwopartiesandthecommonaspirationofallpeopleinthisregiontoupgradeChinaASEANFreeTradeArea,tobuildthe21stcenturyMaritimeSilkRoadforeasiercommunication,andtoopenanewtenyearsofstrategicDiamondCooperationcoveringallareas.Itisbelievedthatourmutuallytrustedandbeneficialcooperationisboundtobearsweetfruits.

Theforumwascomposedoffourmainsubjects,namely,tobuildamutuallytrustedcommunitywithcommondestinythroughpromotingmutualtrust;toupgradeChinaASEANFreeTradeAreathroughdeepeningeconomicandtradecooperation;tobuildtheMaritimeSilkRoadthroughenhancingcommunication;andtoconstructtheASEANCommunitythroughacceleratingpracticalcooperation.

AmongthosegivingkeynotespeechesontheforumwereMs.YangXiuping,ChineseambassadortoASEAN;Mr.KornDabbaransi,formerdeputyPrimeMinisterofThailand,andPresidentofThaiChineseAssociation;Mr.JackyFooKongSeng,ConsulGeneraloftheRepublicofSingaporetoHongKong.Inaddition,H.E.SoegengRahardjo,IndonesianambassadortoChina,senthisgreetingsandarepresentativereadthespeechonhisbehalf.

WithChinaASEANmutuallybeneficialstrategicpartnershipdeepeninginbothdepthandwidth,itiscommonlyheldthatChinaASEANrelationisnowatanewhistoricalstartingpoint.However,againstthebackgroundofchanginggeographicalpolitics,someunkindvoicesareheardnowandtheninthisregion.Thatsomecontroversialregionalissuesareheatedfromtimetotimehas,tosomeextent,impededtheregionalunificationandthemutualtrustandcooperationbetweenChinaandtheASEANcountries.

ItisjointlybelievedthathowtheregionalcooperationmechanismslikeAPEC(theAsiaPacificEconomicCooperation),TPP(theTransPacificPartnershipAgreement)andRCEP(Regionalcomprehensiveeconomicpartnership)complementwitheachotherforcoordinateddevelopmentandhowtheyavoiddistractionstobuildmutualtrustareessentialtofurtheringthedevelopmentofChinaASEANrelation.Moreover,theyareofgreatsignificanceinpeacefullyhandlingtheregionalhotspotissues,inmaintainingtheregionalstabilityandeconomicprosperity.ChinaandtheASEANcountriesneedtofacethesechallengestogetherandcopewiththemthroughconsultation.

Experts,scholarsandpeoplefromthebusinesscirclesattendingthisforummadeexplorationsonissueslikehowtogivefullplaytoHongKong’sadvantagesinupgradingChina-ASEANFreeTradeArea,howtohelpHongKongbetterintegrateintothemainlandaswellastheoutsideworld,andhowtomaintainitsinternationalcompetitiveness.