On 20 April 2021, the Round-Table on Asian Regional Cooperation Organization & Asian Think Tank Forum was held during Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2021. Ms. Fang Hong, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs of Foreign Affairs Ministry of China attended and delivered a keynote speech on behalf of Assistant Foreign Minister Wu Jianghao. Mr. Dato Lim Jock Hoi, Secretary-General of ASEAN, Mr. Chen Dehai, Secretary-General of the ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), Dr. Vladimir Norov, Secretary-General of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Mr. Chen Kewen, Secretary-General of the Board of Directors of Asian Financial Cooperation Association, Dr. Pornchai Danvivathana, Secretary-General of Asian Cooperation Dialogue and Ms. Cao Jing, Deputy Secretary-General of Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat as well as experts and scholars from Asian think tanks such as Mekong Institute and Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Institute attended the event. The Round-Table was hosted by Mr. Xu Bu, President of China Institute of International Studies.

Deputy Director-General Fang Hong stated that regional cooperation in Asia has been flourishing over the years. Faced with COVID-19, various regional cooperation frameworks have adopted active actions and made solid contributions to protecting people’s lives and health, and promoting sustainable development in the region. At present, Asia has maintained overall peace and stability, with economic recovery and development gaining momentum. She pointed out that regional cooperation should follow the overall direction of mutual benefit, deepen regional anti-pandemic cooperation, lead economic growth, promote green and sustainable development, foster an open and inclusive regional security pattern, build a regional governance mode with Asian characteristics, and open up new prospects for regional development.

Secretary-General Dato Lim Jock Hoi noted that in the face of pressing global challenges such as COVID-19 and blowback on globalization and climate change, mankind needs to strengthen global governance and regional cooperation. He stressed the necessity to give full play to the role of regional cooperation organizations, expand international cooperation networks, support multilateralism, advance rule-making, strengthen regional cooperation on COVID-19 response, promote economic and trade integration and digital transformation, and promote balanced development of all countries in the region. ASEAN is ready to work closely with other international organizations to jointly push for an early victory over the pandemic and the resumption of economic and social development in the region.

Secretary-General Chen Dehai said that ASEAN and China are key participants and promoters of Asian regional cooperation. Since the establishment of ASEAN and China dialogue relations 30 years ago, bilateral cooperation has made remarkable progress and the ASEAN-China relationship has grown into a successful model for cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. The two sides would promote coordination on policies and development plans under the new circumstances, take the signing of RCEP as an opportunity to strive for accelerating economic integration, create new highlights of cooperation and intensify people-to-people exchanges, thus make unremitting efforts to promote regional development and prosperity.

Participants held in-depth discussions on the topics such as the opportunities, challenges and paths of Asian regional cooperation and integration under the new circumstances, improving global governance and make coordinated efforts to advance Asian regional cooperation and Belt and Road cooperation.

Prior to the Round-table & Forum, Secretary-General Chen Dehai also attended the welcome dinner for diplomatic envoys, the opening ceremony of the BFA Annual Conference 2021 and the conversation networking breakfast themed “embracing dual circulation and upgrading industrial chain”, hosted by China VAST Industrial Urban Development Company Ltd.

The Round-table on Asian Regional Cooperation Organization & Asian Think Tank Forum is one of the series activities of the BFA Annual Conference 2021 held in Boao, Hainan Province from 18 to 21 April, with the theme of “A world in Change: Join Hands to Strengthen Global Governance and Advance Belt and Road Cooperation”. More than 2,600 people including politicians, business representatives, think tank academics and heads of international organizations from more than 60 countries and regions participated in the event.