On 12 July 2016, H.E. Mme. Yang Xiuping, Secretary-General of the ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) met with H.E. Mr. Vongthep Arthakaivalvatee, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for Socio-Cultural Community in Jakarta, Indonesia, and exchanged views on strengthening ASEAN-China functional cooperation as well as exchanges and collaboration between ACC and the ASEAN Secretariat.
Secretary-General Yang Xiuping made positive comments on the progress of ASEAN Community building and the great efforts made by the ASEAN Secretariat. She expressed her gratitude for the continuous support from the ASEAN Secretariat and briefed on ACC’s recent work, especially the activities conducted during“ASEAN-China Week” in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of ASEAN-China dialogue relations. She noted that ACC was committed to implementing the consensus reached by the leaders of ASEAN countries and China, and actively promoted the functional cooperation in social and cultural areas to strengthen the mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples. She added that among the 19 flagship projects implemented by ACC this year, 7 projects were related to social and cultural areas. ACC would like to maintain close communication with the ASEAN Secretariat and enhance the mutual coordination and cooperation to make greater contribution to the comprehensive and in-depth development of ASEAN-China relations.
Deputy Secretary-General Vongthep Arthakaivalvatee spoke highly of the achievements accomplished by ACC in promoting ASEAN-China functional cooperation. He commented that the ASEAN Community was officially realized at the end of 2015, but the Community building still had a long way to go. Guided by ASEAN Community Vision 2025, the ASEAN Secretariat would comprehensively promote the construction of ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community to achieve inclusive development. The construction of the ASEAN Community needed the support from all walks of life, and the Secretariat would organize various activities to enhance the awareness and involvement of the public. ACC, as an inter-governmental organization, with its wide networks and unique advantages, accumulated successful experiences in promoting friendly exchanges and functional cooperation. He noted that the year of 2017 marked the 50th anniversary of ASEAN, for which the ASEAN Secretariat was planning related activities. The ASEAN Secretariat would like to strengthen communications with ACC to explore the possibility to jointly conduct projects to inject new impetus to the construction of ASEAN Community as well as the development of ASEAN-China relations.