On 28 October 2022, the 2022 Joint Executive Board (JEB) Meeting of the ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) was held in Beijing. The meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Li Xin, Counsellor of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, and Mr. Sreng Sataro, Chargé d’ Affaires ad interim of the Royal Embassy of Cambodia in China, on behalf of the rotating chair of ASEAN. Attendants included Mr. Pehin Dato Rahmani, Ambassador of Brunei to China, Mr. Djauhari Oratmangun, Ambassador of Indonesia to China, Mr. Raja Dato’ Nushirwan Zainal Abidin, Ambassador of Malaysia to China, and representatives from embassies of all ASEAN Member States (AMS) in China, representatives of JEB China Council members including Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Council for the Promotion of International Trade, and officials of the ACC Secretariat.

Mr. Li Xin said that the recently concluded 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has specified the central tasks of the CPC, and that Chinese-style modernisation will bring more opportunities of market, investment and growth to AMS as well as China’s other neighbours, injecting new momentum into mutually beneficial cooperation. President Xi Jinping’s “five proposals on building our home together” has been positively echoed by ASEAN leaders. The Chinese side highly commends the work done by ACC and is willing to work together with the ASEAN side to continue to support the development of ACC and promote its work to a new level. By doing so, greater contribution will be made to deepen the ASEAN-China comprehensive strategic partnership, accelerate the implementation of the “five proposals” and build a closer ASEAN-China community with a shared future. 

Mr. Sreng Sataro stated that as the rotating chair of ASEAN, Cambodia has been actively promoting the development of ASEAN-China relations and fostering peace, stability and development in the region. The upcoming 25th ASEAN-China Summit to be held in Cambodia will provide new opportunities for both sides to further enhance cooperation. The Cambodian side will continue to support ACC’s activities to promote such cooperation.

The JEB ASEAN members warmly congratulated the success of the 20th CPC National Congress and the assumption of office for H.E. Mr. Shi Zhongjun as the Secretary-General of ACC, fully acknowledging the achievements of ACC in overcoming the difficulties of the epidemic and promoting exchanges and cooperation between the two sides in the areas of trade, investment, education, culture, tourism and information and media around the theme of sustainable development cooperation in 2022. JEB members expressed their full support to the work of ACC and made suggestions on further strengthening ASEAN-China cooperation in various fields in the post-epidemic era. They expressed hope that ACC will continue to play its role as a one-stop information and activities centre, implement the Plan of Action on ASEAN-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, upgrade its brand and flagship projects, and carry out more people-to-people and cultural exchanges, so as to further advance ASEAN-China relations. 

Secretary-General Shi Zhongjun thanked the JEB members for their strong support to the work of the ACC Secretariat and their valuable advice and suggestions. He said that in 2022, ACC had earnestly implemented the important consensus reached by the leaders of two sides at the ASEAN-China Special Summit to Commemorate the 30th Anniversary of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations and the ASEAN-China Summit 2021, and has been committed to the mission of promoting ASEAN-China friendly exchanges and practical cooperation, and strengthening mutual trust and friendship. ACC’s visibility and influence is constantly expanding. Focusing on the theme of sustainable development cooperation, ACC co-hosted a series of activities, including the Symposium on Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, Forum on Building High-Quality Belt and Road, training programmes for vocational education and tourism practitioners, the ASEAN-China Fair 2022 and the ASEAN-China Media Cooperation Forum. In the coming year, ACC is willing to work together with JEB to strengthen cooperation in areas such as agricultural development and food security, public health, disaster management, vocational education and youth exchanges, and make innovative efforts to further promote the implementation of the “five proposals on building our home together” and the continuous development of the ASEAN-China comprehensive strategic partnership.

The meeting heard a report on the work of ACC since the last Joint Council meeting, considered ACC’s work report for 2022, the draft work plan for 2023 and the draft financial budget for 2023, and discussed other related matters. The above documents will be submitted to the 2022 Joint Council Meeting of ACC for consideration.