Liaison officials of China-ASEAN Summit meet in Beijing

The Liaison Official's Meeting of the 20th China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit is held in Beijing on June 26. [Photo provided to en.gxzf.gov.cn]

The Liaison Official's Meeting of the 20th China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit took place in Beijing on June 26, briefing participating representatives of ASEAN countries of the summit's planned events and soliciting opinions from them.

Zhang Shaogang, vice chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, pointed out that 2023 is a meaningful year, as it marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the strategic partnership between China and ASEAN. It also marks the 20th anniversary of the founding of the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, and the 20th anniversary of China's signing and accession to the Treaty of Amity.

The summit has now developed into an international economic and trade event of the highest level. It is also the largest event in terms of scale and influence between China and ASEAN. It is an important mechanism and platform for China and ASEAN countries to promote dialogue, strengthen economic and trade cooperation, and promote people-to-people exchanges.

This year's summit will focus on pressing issues, such as seizing opportunities that the RCEP has provided, promoting opening-up measures and deepened cooperation, and accelerating the construction of the 3.0 version of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area. 

Zhang later expressed the hope that business communities in China and ASEAN countries will make use of the summit to jointly promote the full recovery of regional economic cooperation. He also emphasized the importance of beefing up the sustainable development of international trade and investment work.

The summit has achieved a series of fruitful results from its previous sessions, as senior government officials and business leaders from China and ASEAN countries have attended more than 200 business activities since the summit was established.

Sui Guohua, vice chairperson of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, put forward that Guangxi is willing to join hands with business communities in ASEAN countries in order to seize major opportunities. 

Yang Yanyan, secretary-general of the summit, said that a series of economic and trade activities will be held throughout the summit, including an opening ceremony, roundtable dialogues, forums, joint meetings, on-site tours and investment fairs.