On 21 February 2017, H.E. Mme. Yang Xiuping, Secretary-General of?ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), met with Mr. Li Jun, Deputy Secretary of the Hainan Committee of the Communist Party of China.? Mr. Wang Sheng, Director-General of the Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of Hainan Province, and Mr. Zhang Xuehai, Deputy Director of the Information and Public Relations Division of ACC attended the meeting.

Deputy Party Secretary Li Jun extended a warm welcome to Secretary-General Yang Xiuping who was visiting Hainan to learn about the practical cooperation between Hainan and ASEAN, and gave a brief introduction of the social and economic development of Hainan.?He said that Hainan Province is the largest special economic zone in China, located?at?the?southernmost?part?of?China and close to key international shipping lane. It has a unique advantage of opening to the outside world. Hainan attaches great importance to cooperation with ASEAN and looks forward to further strengthening its practical cooperation with ASEAN in marine economy, agriculture and other areas for win-win results, by giving full play to its development advantages and fully utilizing the opportunities presented by the in-depth development of ASEAN-China relations, as well as the implementation of the 13th Five-Year Plan of China and the future development of Hainan itself. It is expected that ACC could provide continuous supports in this respect.

Secretary-General Yang Xiuping spoke highly of the important contribution and fruitful outcomes made by Hainan in promoting ASEAN-China practical cooperation, and briefed on ACC’s mandate and recent work. She said that ACC is dedicated to facilitating exchanges and cooperation for local provinces and cities. Bearing in mind the development advantages of Hainan and its demands in cooperating with ASEAN, ACC would maintain close communication with Hainan Province and support Hainan in its efforts to broaden friendly exchanges with ASEAN countries with a view to promoting the sustainable development of ASEAN-China cooperation.

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