On 13 January 2022, the ASEAN-China Online Influencers Conference & Fujian Brands Promotion Tour along Maritime Silk Road was held in Fuzhou. The event was co-hosted by ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), Huanqiu.com, Department of Commerce of Fujian Province, Fujian Provincial Cyberspace Administration, Fujian Provincial Foreign Affairs Office and Fuzhou Municipal Government. Ms. Guo Ningning, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Fujian Provincial Committee and Executive Vice Governor of Fujian Provincial Government, Ms. Hua Chunying, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, Mr. Djauhari Oratmangun, Ambassador of Indonesia to China, Mr. Hu Zhengyue, Vice President of China Public Diplomacy Association, Mr. Wu Xiande, Mayor of Fuzhou Municipal People’s Government, Mr. Chen Dehai, Secretary-General of ACC, Ms. Jiang Qin, Chargé d’Affaires ad Interim of the Chinese Mission to ASEAN, and Mr. Shan Chengbiao, General Manager of Huanqiu.com, attended and addressed the event online or offline. About 200 guests attended the event offline, including Mr. Nelson Ng Chiun Ming, Consul General of Singapore to Xiamen, Ms. Maria Antonina M. Mendoza-Oblena, Consul General of the Philippines to Xiamen, Mr. Benjamin Sukanjanajtee, Deputy Chief of Mission of Royal Thai Embassy in China, Mr. Sreng Sataro, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Cambodian Embassy in China, Mr. Arianto Surojo, Director of the Information and Public Relations Division of ACC, representatives of the embassies of Myanmar, Malaysia and other ASEAN Member States (AMS) in China, officials of Fujian Provincial Government and Fuzhou Municipal Government, online influencers, experts, scholars and media. More than 10 million netizens watched the event online. 

Vice Governor Guo Ningning said in her address that Fujian is the place of original idea and initiating practice of President Xi Jinping’s proposal for building a “Digital China”. After more than 20 years of hard work, remarkable progress has been made in building a “Digital Fujian”. She hoped that Fujian and AMS would take the conference as an opportunity to promote the integration of Fujian’s advantageous industries, Internet celebrity live broadcasts and e-commerce channels, and build an ASEAN-oriented internet celebrity base and online goods selection centre, in an effort to expand the cooperation between Fujian and ASEAN in digital economy.

Assistant Foreign Minister Hua Chunying extended warm congratulations on the successful holding of the first ASEAN-China Online Influencers Conference in her video address, and pointed out that online influencers play a unique and irreplaceable role in promoting mutual understanding among the people of different countries in today’s world where new media prevails. She hoped that more online influencers can use their wisdom and sincerity to tell more about the daily lives of the people in China and AMS, as well as the friendly exchanges and heart-to-heart communication between them, and convey more positive energy to consolidate and promote the people-to-people bond between the two sides.

Ambassador Djauhari Oratmangun expressed high appreciation to the host for bringing together ASEAN-China online influencers to carry out various positive activities. He said that the increasing potential and benefit of ASEAN influencers has been known not only to promote products, but also tourism and culture. The young generation of influencers of ASEAN and China is the nation’s successor and one of the prime movers of ASEAN-China progress. He encouraged all influencers to work together to carve out a brighter future for ASEAN and China, and looked forward to the continued success of the conference. 

Vice President Hu Zhengyue said that the Conference is a new platform to strengthen ASEAN-China people-to-people exchanges under the new situation. ASEAN-China cooperation is an all-round and high-level cooperation covering multiple fields. Online influencers can use their influence to promote extensive exchanges and cooperation between ASEAN and China, so as to make special and valuable contributions to the friendly relations between the two sides.

Secretary-General Chen Dehai said that Fujian has maintained sound momentum in its economic and social development, and enhanced friendly exchanges and practical cooperation with ASEAN in recent years. It is an innovative move for ASEAN and China to carry out exchange activities with online influencers, in line with the general trend of the times and the needs of the people on both sides. He hoped that the two sides will actively respond to the growing trend of new media, particularly the more socialised, individualised and visualised mobile communication, and give full play to the positive energy of online influencers, in an effort to advance anti-epidemic cooperation and economic and social recovery.

General Manager Shan Chengbiao said that China and ASEAN have gone through an extraordinary journey since the establishment of ASEAN-China dialogue relations 30 years ago. Exchanges and cooperation in media have played an important role in promoting the development of ASEAN-China relations and promoting cultural exchanges and mutual learning.

The conference focused on ASEAN-China economic cooperation, trade and people-to-people exchanges. Diplomatic envoys, experts, scholars and representatives of online influencers from China and AMS held discussions on such topics as “promoting ASEAN-China economic and cultural exchanges through Internet platform”, “scaling new heights in economic cooperation and trade under RCEP” and “strengthening cooperation in online influencer economy and cross-border e-commerce”.

During the event, Mr. Djauhari Oratmangun, Ambassador of Indonesia to China, Mr. Nelson Ng Chiun Ming, Consul General of Singapore to Xiamen, Ms. Maria Antonina M.Mendoza-Oblena, Consul General of the Philippines to Xiamen and Mr. Benjamin Sukanjanajtee, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Thai Embassy in China, were interviewed by the event organiser.

ASEAN envoys and media also visited Yongrong Holding Group Co., Ltd, Haishi Digital Intelligence Centre, Fuzhou Software Park, and cultural spots such as Fudao skywalk and Three Lanes and Seven Alleys.