The year of 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the Chinese President Xi Jinping’s proposal of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) has been successfully concluded in Beijing last October. In the purpose of achieving better alignment between the BRI and Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 (MPAC2025), consistently upgrading regional connectivity, and boosting post-pandemic regional recovery, the ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), in collaboration with the Embassy of the Lao PDR in China, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Industry and Commerce of the Lao PDR, will co-host Belt & Road Connecting ASEAN Events under the theme of “Enhancing Connectivity and Sharing Prosperity” on 26 to 29 November in Vientiane & Luang Prabang.

The events consist of an opening ceremony and a main forum “A Decade of ASEAN - China Connectivity”, ASEAN (Laos) - China Forum on Trade, Investment and Tourism, a ride along the China-Laos railway and field trips to local enterprises and cultural heritage sites. Senior government officials, diplomatic envoys, think tank experts and representatives of business communities from both ASEAN Member States (AMS) and China will be invited to join the activities. 

With active participation and strong support from all relevant partners and stakeholders, the upcoming Belt & Road Connecting ASEAN Events will follow up on implementing the concrete outcomes of the 3rd BRF, and further promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation between AMS and China, thus contributing to the sound and steady growth of the ASEAN-China comprehensive strategic partnership in the long run.