China and ASEAN are each other’s largest trading partners. Recently, Xu Ningning, executive director of the China-ASEAN Business Council, put forward relevant suggestions on enhancing bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

He emphasized that we should focus on mutual major concerns and strengthen the depth and breadth of cooperation.

Xu Ningning said that the two parties should take the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the China-ASEAN dialogue partnership as an opportunity to clarify the short-term, medium-term and long-term cooperation goals, implement innovative and pragmatic cooperation, precise docking cooperation, and coordinated and coordinated cooperation, and jointly continue the cooperation between the two parties. To be a model for regional economic cooperation in the global fight against the epidemic, a model for the joint construction of the “Belt and Road”, and a model for the implementation of the domestic and international “dual circular” economic development, and continue to be the most dynamic and richest in the ASEAN- Dialogue Partnership. The relationship between the two parties will continue to develop to a new stage of economic and trade cooperation.

Xu Ningning talked about the two sides’ focus on fighting the epidemic and economic recovery. The extent of the impact of the epidemic on the economies of China and ASEAN countries depends not only on the duration of the global epidemic and the changes it brings, but also on China and ASEAN countries themselves. The effectiveness of the implementation of prevention and control and response measures, and the degree of mutual cooperation.

Xu Ningning pointed out that since cooperation is an important way to overcome the epidemic and achieve growth, the two sides should adopt the concept of “seeing the truth in danger, and cooperation and development”, actively inject positive energy for cooperation to overcome difficulties, innovate cooperation ideas, and actively promote the region where we are in the same boat. Economic integration; improve the level of China-ASEAN public health cooperation, strengthen regional and global medical supplies and equipment supply chains, strengthen capacity building and information and policy exchanges, further expand vaccine cooperation, and accelerate the production and distribution of safe, effective, high-quality and affordable Vaccines, promote vaccines to be fair and accessible to all.

Xu Ningning said that we should make good use of the successful experience of cooperation and development in the past 30 years:

——Taking care of concerns and mutual benefit are the driving force of cooperation, which is related to the effectiveness and continuity of cooperation;

-Enhancing understanding and mutual understanding is an important prerequisite for cooperation, which is related to expanding the mainstream positiveness of cooperation and reducing the constraints of negative factors;

—— Tolerance and openness, and making full use of strengths to make up for weaknesses are an important orientation of cooperation, which is related to the joint development of both parties;

——Pragmatic docking and innovation-driven are cooperative actions, which are related to the focus and vitality of cooperation to achieve the needs of both parties.

Xu Ningning talked about cooperation based on ASEAN’s 2021 theme. Brunei, the rotating ASEAN presidency in 2021, will set the theme of ASEAN as “common concern, common response, and common prosperity” to reflect the care of the people and each other’s security, prepare for future opportunities and challenges, and achieve prosperity and development together. This theme was approved by the ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting. Combining this theme, ASEAN’s rotating presidency and the ASEAN Secretariat have proposed key cooperation areas and priority cooperation content. The two sides should actively communicate to facilitate implementation.

When talking about strengthening the depth and breadth of economic cooperation between the two sides, Xu Ningning said that 2021 is the first year of China’s 14th Five-Year Plan, a key year for ASEAN’s fight against the epidemic and the realization of economic recovery and growth, and the establishment of a dialogue partner between China and ASEAN. The 30th anniversary of the relationship is the year of China-ASEAN sustainable development cooperation. In order to continuously improve the quality and efficiency of the cooperation between the two parties, both parties need to take a series of targeted, supporting, and mutually beneficial cooperation measures in a timely manner to push the China-ASEAN strategic partnership to a new height.

Source: China-ASEAN Business Council