China-ASEAN high-level think tank forum kicks off

On December 11, the China-ASEAN High-level Think Tank Forum was held online and offline in Haikou.

In this Think Tank Forum, experts and scholars from China and ASEAN countries discuss online and offline, over "Working in Solidarity and Focusing on Development" and contribute their collective wisdom to promote the China - ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Wang Jiarui, Vice-Chairman of the 12th CPPCC National Committee and Chairman of the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation, and Feng Fei, Governor of Hainan Province, attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches in Beijing and Haikou, respectively.

Wang Jiarui pointed out that in the past 30 years since the establishment of dialogue relations between China and ASEAN, the two sides have worked hand-in-hand to seek progress while maintaining stability when historic opportunities present themselves and to support each other in overcoming difficulties for the benefit of both parties. Governor Feng Fei said that the deepening of China-ASEAN relations has created a stable and positive environment for Hainan, and a rare opportunity for Hainan to practice high-level institutional opening-up.

At the opening ceremony, participants from Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Myanmar and other ASEAN countries hailed China-ASEAN collaboration and expressed strong willingness to further deepen the cooperation.

Somsavat Lengsavad, former deputy prime minister of Laos, said that China has been actively assisting the development of Laos, and that the cooperation between the two countries in the fields of agriculture, economy and trade, and people-to-people exchanges have composed a new chapter of building a common community of shared destiny.

The participants expressed that China and ASEAN countries are developing an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership with broad prospects. In the future, the Hainan Free Trade Port, which aims to build a major gateway featuring opening up, will spur higher-level exchanges on a larger scale.

“I think this forum is a platform for the interaction between Hainan and the ASEAN countries. I hope to build this platform into a brand, attracting more experts to joint our consultations and seek common ground while reserving differences,” said Zhang Yuyan, member of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and director of Institute of World Economics and Politics.

Chi Fulin, president of China Institute for Reform and Development, states that it is worth considering how Hainan should attract domestic enterprises to set up their regional headquarters there, and then invest in ASEAN countries, and how ASEAN enterprises can be attracted to Hainan, and enter China's large market supported by 1.4 billion people.