Group photo of the attendants at the seminar on ASEAN Community Building and China-ASEAN Relations in Beijing on May 15 (WANG XIANG) 

A seminar themed "Communication, Cooperation and Common Development" on ASEAN Community Building and China-ASEAN Relations took place on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing on May 15.

Chinese and foreign participants of the event discussed topics such as ASEAN at its 50th Anniversary and China-ASEAN Relations, The Belt and Road Initiative and ASEAN 2025, and Advancing China-ASEAN Relations through Media Cooperation.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of ASEAN. The forum, hosted by the Mission of the People's Republic of China to ASEAN, Beijing Review and the Pangoal Institution, aims to strengthen collaboration and cooperation between China and ASEAN through the media, promote the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, and deepen China-ASEAN relations.

AKP Mochtan, Deputy Secretary General of ASEAN for Community and Corporate Affairs, delivers a speech at the seminar in Beijing on May 15 (WANG XIANG) 

AKP Mochtan, Deputy Secretary General of ASEAN for Community and Corporate Affairs, delivered a speech at the forum entitled Pathway Toward Shared Prosperity. Mochtan enumerated the achievements of ASEAN over the past 50 years and elaborated on the significance of ASEAN 2025 in strengthening regional security, promoting regional economic integration, social inclusiveness and harmony, and realizing sustainable development. Mochtan pointed out that the cooperation agreements and mechanisms formed between China and ASEAN in various areas in recent years have brought new opportunities for Sino-ASEAN relations. ASEAN 2025 corresponds to the Chinese dream, and ASEAN Connectivity dovetails with China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, all leading to common prosperity. Finally, he compared Sino-ASEAN relations to "a red string of fate" which will never break and stated the belief that the two sides will forge ahead hand-in-hand to realize shared prosperity.

Yu Hongjun, Honorary President of the Academic Committee of the Pangoal Institution, addresses the seminar in Beijing on May 15 (WANG XIANG) 

In his keynote speech, Yu Hongjun, Honorary President of the Academic Committee of the Pangoal Institution and former Vice Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, noted that the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, attracting a wide participation of distinguished guests from all over the world, indicates China's determination to open wider to the outside world and to play a more significant role in economic globalization and global affairs. The ASEAN region will surely be a forerunner and example in the advancement of the initiative, further enhancing the strategic partnership between China and ASEAN.

Li Yafang, President of BEIJING REVIEW, delivers a keynote speech at the seminar in Beijing on May 15 (WANG XIANG) 

"ASEAN's advantageous location and long trade ties with China have made it important for the Belt and Road Initiative…China will share opportunities and tackle challenges together with ASEAN to achieve common development and prosperity and become a community with a common destiny, sharing benefits and troubles alike," Li Yafang, President of BEIJING REVIEW, said in a keynote speech delivered at the forum.

"Media cooperation between China and ASEAN can strengthen and deepen the bilateral relationship and contribute to exchanges and cooperation. This is where we come in," Li added.

Also attending the seminar were Zhao Xiyuan, Secretary General of the China Public Diplomacy Association; Teng Jianqun, Director of Arms Control and International Security Studies; China Institute of International Studies; Wang Xiaohui, Editor-in-Chief of China.org.cn; Xu Qinduo, producer with China Radio International English Service; Firdaus Abd Rahman, Founder and Executive Deputy President of Brunei-China Friendship Association; Antonio D. Kalaw, Jr., the seventh President of the Development Academy of the Philippines; Arie Setiabudi, Dean of Faculty of Social and Political Sciences of University of Indonesia; Danny Lee, Chairman of the Association for Regional Connectivity of Singapore; and Ma Naifang, First Secretary of the Mission of the People's Republic of China to ASEAN.

Copyedited by Sudeshna Sarkar

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