Address at the Opening Ceremony of the 21st China-ASEAN Expo And China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit

Editor's note: Chinese Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang addressed the opening ceremony of the 21st China-ASEAN Expo and the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on Tuesday. Following is the full text of the speech:

Good morning! It is a pleasure to be here with you for the 21st China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (CABIS). First of all, on behalf of the Chinese government, I wish to extend warm congratulations on the opening of CAEXPO and CABIS, and a hearty welcome to all guests present today.

Friendship between China and ASEAN goes back a long time. We are good neighbors, good friends and good partners. In October 2013, President Xi Jinping proposed that China and ASEAN countries work together to build a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and foster a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future. His proposals resonated warmly among ASEAN countries. In November 2021, at the Special Summit to Commemorate the 30th Anniversary of China-ASEAN Dialogue Relations, President Xi Jinping proposed building a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable home together, and alongside leaders of ASEAN countries, announced the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership. Over the years, China and ASEAN have advanced forward hand in hand; our interactions have served as the most successful and dynamic model of cooperation in the Asia-Pacific, and a vivid example of the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

We have strengthened understanding and trust through mutual respect. China regards ASEAN as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy and a key region in high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. ASEAN countries, on their part, see in China a trustworthy and close partner. The two sides accommodate each other's major concerns, and respect each other's development paths, which has further solidified our strategic mutual trust.

We have deepened regional economic integration through win-win cooperation. In actively promoting regional economic integration, we have boosted trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, further unleashing the dividends of multilateral and bilateral free trade agreements. China has been ASEAN's top trading partner for 15 consecutive years, and ASEAN has been China's largest trading partner for four years in a row. We are also a major investor and destination of investment for each other: two-way investment exceeds US$400 billion in total.

We have significantly improved connectivity through consultation and joint contribution. The China-Laos Railway has transported more than 38 million passenger trips on 56,000 train services. The Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Railway has reduced the travel time between the two cities from three hours to 40 minutes. The China-Laos-Thailand-Malaysia express railway service has been officially launched. As these and many other key projects are completed and put into operation, they provide a strong underpinning to the local economies, and bring tangible benefits to our peoples in hundreds of millions.

We have tightened cultural and people-to-people bonds through friendly exchanges. Cooperation in education, science and technology, culture, tourism and other fields is thriving, contributing to more frequent exchanges and a closer relationship between our peoples. During the pandemic in particular, the two sides worked closely together to safeguard peoples' lives and health, a full demonstration of true friendship in times of need.

In a few days' time, the People's Republic of China will celebrate its 75th birthday. In the past 75 years, the hardworking Chinese people have created a Chinese miracle that has riveted the attention of the world. Especially since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, China has witnessed historic achievements and historic changes in its development. We are proud of what our country has accomplished, and are fully confident about its future. Right now, China is working to build itself into a great modern socialist country and to advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through a Chinese path to modernization. This will bring huge opportunities to the rest of the world. We will continue to follow the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness, deepen practical cooperation with ASEAN countries, and jointly usher in a new chapter in the building of a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.

First, we will bring strategic mutual trust to a new height. In jointly implementing the Global Development Initiative (GDI), the Global Security Initiative (GSI) and the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI), we need to strengthen cooperation in relevant areas, and respond to various global challenges. We need to further synergize our development plans, engage in high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, collaborate under the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), and contribute more to regional and global prosperity and stability.

Second, we will elevate openness and cooperation to a new level. We need to deliver a high-quality implementation of the RCEP, and wrap up the negotiations on the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement 3.0 as soon as possible. We need to steadily expand institutional opening up, and harmonize our rules, regulations, management and standards. We need to step up industrial cooperation, and build more stable and smooth cross-border industrial and supply chains. Harnessing the strength of its super-sized market, China is ready to import more quality products from ASEAN countries.

Third, we will create a new framework of all-round connectivity. We need to strengthen infrastructure connectivity covering rail, roads, ports, airports, electricity and communications, and pursue high-level cooperation in building the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor. We need to make steady progress in key economic corridors and major projects, connect the key nodes in the regional infrastructure network, and forge fourfold connectivity of land, sea, air and the Internet. We need to leverage the China-ASEAN Information Harbor to promote digital connectivity and information sharing, and work together for a digital Silk Road.

Fourth, we will explore new areas of cooperation in scientific and technological innovation. We need to seize the opportunities offered by the latest round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, step up innovation cooperation and fruits sharing, and accelerate the development of new quality productive forces. As we carry out the China-ASEAN Science, Technology and Innovation Enhancing Program, we need to strengthen research collaboration in focused areas, and speed up the building of joint labs and other collaboration platforms. China is ready to make good use of existing mechanisms such as the China-ASEAN Technology Transfer Center to continue to provide advanced and applicable technologies to ASEAN and enable more innovation fruits to benefit the people on both sides.

Fifth, we will foster new highlights in people-to-people interactions. We need to make the most of the China-ASEAN Year of People-to-People Exchanges, further our cooperation in culture, tourism, training and youth, and increase practical exchanges at subnational levels and between friendly organizations. We will open and run well the China-ASEAN Institutes of Modern Craftsmanship, implement the China-ASEAN Youth Leaders Growth Program with innovative ideas, and promote more exchanges and mutual learning between the younger generation. We will deliver more "small and beautiful" livelihood projects to consolidate public support for China-ASEAN relations.

Both CAEXPO and CABIS are results-oriented platforms for advancing regional economic integration. I hope you will engage in in-depth exchanges and discussions, help China-ASEAN cooperation produce more fruits, and make your contributions to regional peace, stability, development and prosperity.

To conclude, I wish today's event a full success, and wish our distinguished guests happiness and every success.

Thank you.

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS