On 14 September 2016, H.E. Mme. Yang Xiuping, Secretary-General of ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), met with the delegation of the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations (PCFR) at the ACC Secretariat. The officials-in-charge of different divisions of ACC attended the meeting.
Secretary-General Yang Xiuping extended her warm welcome to the PCFR and briefed on ASEAN-China relations and ACC's mandates and recent work. She said that 2016 marks the 25th anniversary of ASEAN-China dialogue relations and the ASEAN-China Year of Educational Exchange, and both sides have carried out a series of friendly exchanges and commemorative activities on this occasion.
The 19th ASEAN-China Summit and the Commemorative Summit marking the 25th anniversary of ASEAN-China dialogue relations concluded in success in Vientiane in early September 2016. The leaders reached consensus on further deepening ASEAN-China relations, which gave fresh impetus to the development of the relations. Year 2017 will mark 50th anniversary of ASEAN as well as the Year of ASEAN-China Tourism Cooperation. The Philippines will assume the chairmanship of ASEAN next year. ACC will remain committed to implementing in the cooperation fields agreed by the ASEAN and Chinese leaders and look forward to working closely with the Philippine Government and the people in ASEAN and China to make further contributions to promoting sustained and deeper development of the ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership.
The head of the delegation, H.E. Jose V. Romero, President of PCFR and Former Ambassador of the Philippines to Italy, expressed gratitude to ACC for its hospitality and showed appreciation of ACC’s efforts to promote ASEAN-China friendly exchange and cooperation. He noted that PCFR, founded in 1985, is a prestigious think-tank whose members include retired ambassadors, senior military officers, and celebrities in the academic and economic circles. PCFR remains dedicated to promoting friendly exchange and cooperation between the Philippines and foreign countries and looks forward to contribute wisdom and energy to enhance Philippines-China cooperation. It is also willing to strengthen links and communication with ACC.
The members of the delegation expressed their views and proposals on jointly building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road so aa to promoting regional connectivity in sealane , and cooperation in culture, education, economy, and trade between the Philippines and China, and between ASEAN and China. They also look forward to ACC’s greater role in this connection.