From 19 to 23 August 2018, ACC hosted a familiarization trip for media officials from embassies of ASEAN Member States to visit Hefei, Wuhu and Huangshan cities of Anhui province. H.E. Mr. Chen Dehai, Secretary-General of ACC and diplomats from the embassies of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore and Viet Nam participated in the visit.
During the visit, the delegation met with H.E. Mme. Sun Lifang, Vice Chairperson of CPPCC Anhui Provincial Committee, Mr. Zheng Mingwu, Head of the Information Office of Anhui Provincial Government, Mr. Zhong Junjie, Member of the Standing Committee and Director of the Publicity Department of CPC Heifei Municipal Committee, Mme. Duan Yujia, Member of the Standing Committee and Director of the Publicity Department of CPC Wuhu Municipal Committee, Mr. Xu Deshu, Member of the Standing Committee and Director of the Publicity Department of CPC Huangshan Municipal Committee, Mme. Sun Jie, Member of the Standing Committee and Director of the Publicity Department of CPC She County Committee, and officials of other competent departments at county, municipal and provincial levels. In addition, the delegation visited Anhui Radio and Television Station, Anhui Daily Press Group and Anhui New Media Group, held talks with Ms. Wang Zhen, Chief Editor of Anhui Daily Press Group, visited well-known local enterprises such as China Speech Valley, iFLYTEK, JAC Motors, China Anhui Conch Group and Zoomlion Heavy Machinery Co., Ltd., and visited tourism and cultural facilities of Yellow Mountain to gain in-depth understanding of the economic and social development of Anhui province and exchange views with all sides on ways to strengthen friendship and cooperation between ASEAN countries and Anhui in various fields.
Leaders of Anhui province and related cities and counties warmly welcomed the delegation led by Secretary-General Chen Dehai and elaborated on the local history, culture and innovation-driven development. They expressed that ASEAN is a key area for Anhui's opening-up, cooperation and exchanges. At present, Anhui is building itself into a new highland for inland openness. There is vast space and potential for cooperation with ASEAN countries. It is hoped that the media officials of the ASEAN embassies in China could have a deeper understanding of Anhui through this trip, promote Anhui to the ASEAN countries and further enhance friendly exchanges and practical cooperation between Anhui and ASEAN countries. ACC is an important platform for promoting practical cooperation between China and ASEAN and plays a significant role in deepening the bilateral relations. They expressed their readiness to continue to strengthen communications with ACC and expand and deepen friendly exchanges with ASEAN countries through the platforms and resources provided by ACC.
Secretary-General Chen Dehai thanked Anhui province for its long-standing strong support for the work of ACC. He commended the fruitful results of the exchanges and cooperation between Anhui and ASEAN, and briefed on the mandate and work of ACC. He said that ACC organized this trip to Anhui as part of its efforts to commemorate the 15th anniversary of ASEAN-China strategic partnership. As this year is also designated as the ASEAN-China Year of Innovation, it is of great significance to visit Anhui, particularly visiting Hefei city which is known as the Innovation Highland. ACC will continue to play the role as a bridge to connect Anhui province and ASEAN countries, explore the possibilities to work with Anhui to organize various kinds of activities to lift Anhui-ASEAN cooperation to a new level.
For ASEAN media officials, this was the first time for them to visit Anhui. They listened attentively to the briefings in various aspects, and actively interacted with local government departments, enterprises and media. They said that the visit enabled them to gain an in-depth understanding of Anhui's development achievements in the media industry, information technology, scientific and technological innovation, equipment manufacturing, eco-tourism, cultural tourism, etc. The delegation was deeply impressed by the profound history, splendid culture, beautiful ecological environment, hospitality and socio-economic vibrancy of Anhui province. They said that they will share the experience and observation with their colleagues and redouble their efforts to promote Anhui in their future work to let more people in ASEAN know about the place, and support and deepen practical cooperation between Anhui and ASEAN across the board. They hoped that ACC would continue to organize more activities of this kind to build a bridge for communication between the ASEAN embassies and the local provinces and cities in China.
The Anhui trip was the first time for ACC to organize such familiarization trip outside Beijing. The trip was co-hosted by ACC and the Publicity Department of the CPC Anhui Provincial Committee, and was co-organized by the Information Office of the Anhui Provincial People’s Government and the ASEAN Finance.