Broadening the prospects for shared future of China-ASEAN community

September 20, 2024

JAKARTA – The third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was convened in Beijing from July 15 to 18. The most significant outcome of the meeting was the adoption of the resolution on further deepening comprehensive reform to advance Chinese modernization.

As President Xi Jinping pointed out, reform and opening up are an ongoing endeavor rather than a task to be completed. The resolution laid out more than 300 important reform tasks across the board and overall arrangements for both economic structural reform and reforms in other areas, which shall be completed by the time the People’s Republic of China celebrates its 80th anniversary in 2029.

The resolution sends a strong message to both domestic and international audiences that Chinese modernization has been advanced continuously through reform and opening up, and it will surely embrace broader horizons through this process.

As Chinese ambassador to ASEAN, I would emphasize that the resolution not only has a profound impact on the future of China, but also pools of vast opportunities for the development of ASEAN countries. It thus will open broader prospects for the China-ASEAN community’s shared future.

First, China’s reform will help China and ASEAN achieve common development. During the past 33 years, the two parties have joined hands to pursue modernization.

China has been ASEAN’s largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years, while ASEAN has been China’s biggest trading partner for the last four years. Two-way trade increased by 10.5 percent year-on-year (yoy) in the first half of 2024. In 2023, China’s investment in ASEAN increased by 44.6 percent and two-way investment has accumulated to over