On 20 January 2022, the ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) held a media networking activity among media officials of ASEAN Member States (AMS) embassies in China, ASEAN media in Beijing and Chinese mainstream media. Mr. Chen Dehai, Secretary-General of ACC, Mr. Arianto Sujoro, Director of Information and Public Relations Division (IPRD) of ACC, Mr. Fang Qiang, Deputy Director of IPRD, media officials from AMS embassies, journalists from Khmer Daily Beijing Branch, Antara (Indonesia), Nanyang Bridge (Indonesia), The Star (Malaysia), and Vietnam People Daily, and representatives from People.com, Chinadaily.com.cn, Huanqiu.com, China Media Group, China Report ASEAN, Beijing Review, Sina.com and ByteDance attended the event.

Secretary-General Chen Dehai thanked all participating media officials of AMS embassies and friends from ASEAN and Chinese media for their strong support to ACC in the past year, and extended best Chinese New Year wishes to everyone. He mentioned that 2021 marked the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-China dialogue relations and the 10th anniversary of ACC’s establishment. With the great support and cooperation of AMS media officials and ASEAN and Chinese media friends, ACC succeeded in overcoming difficulties brought by the pandemic and smoothly implemented the flagship programmers. ACC’s efforts have boosted ASEAN-China ties, strengthened cooperation for mutual benefits and deepened understanding and friendship between the two peoples. The establishment of ASEAN-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the entry-into-force of RCEP will create more space and potentials for the cooperation between the two sides. Media will continue to play an indispensable role in promoting ASEAN-China ties. He hoped that the media of the two sides would continue to support each other and cooperate closely to nurture favorable public opinion for the development of ASEAN-China relations, in an effort to elevate ASEAN-China ties to an even higher level in the coming year. ACC is ready to play the role of bridge and bond as always.

The guests watched a short video reflecting the media and information work of ACC in the past year and listened to a brief introduction of ACC’s relevant flagship programmes in 2022. Representatives from ASEAN and Chinese media thanked ACC for organising the networking activity every year, and echoed that this event has built a useful platform for in-depth communication and exchanges between the two sides, which is crucial for deepening friendship and promoting cooperation. They said that they would actively join and report the flagship programmers organised by ACC in the future, continue to work with ACC to deepen ASEAN-China media exchanges and cooperation, and make greater contributions to the development of ASEAN-China friendly relations.