On 23 to 27 May, the ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) invited Ambassador Somphone Sichaleune of Lao PDR, the rotating chair of ASEAN, to China and Ambassador U Tin Maung Swe of Myanmar, country coordinator of ASEAN-China relations,  to China and his wife on a working visit to Shaanxi Province of China. 

The visit took the delegation to Liangjiahe Village in Yanchuan County of Yan'an City, Yangjialing Revolutionary Site, Yan'an Revolutionary Memorial Museum, Yan'an Literature and Art Memorial Hall, High-Tech Zone of Weinan City, Shadow Puppets Intangible Heritage Base of Huazhou District, Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum, Fu Tea Industrial Park, and BYD Xi'an Factory, which left the delegation a deep impression on Shaanxi’s long history, rich culture and its potential for future cooperation with ASEAN Member States (AMS) in the future. 

On the afternoon of 27 May, Vice Governor Chen Chunjiang of Shaanxi Province met with the delegation in Xi 'an.  Vice Governor Chen stressed that Shaanxi has been committed to implementing the important consensus reached between H. E. President Xi Jinping and ASEAN leaders in recent years, and actively promoting cooperation with AMS. The visit of ASEAN ambassadors to Shaanxi organized by the ACC is equipped with rich itinerary, generates quite a few highlights, and bears great significance in helping Shaanxi further strengthen multi-faceted cooperation with AMS in economy, trade, culture, tourism and education, enhance people-to-people exchanges between Chinese provinces and AMS, and enrich the growth of ASEAN-China comprehensive strategic partnership.

Ambassador Somphone said that the visit enabled him and his colleagues to have an in-depth understanding of the development history and experience in governance of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the richness and splendour of the Chinese civilization, and the industry and wisdom of the Chinese people. Laos assumes the chairmanship of ASEAN and launches its “Visit Laos Year 2024” project. Laos stands ready to promote, in an all-round manner, the cooperation between Laos and China, as well as between ASEAN and China, in such fields as economy, trade, culture and tourism.

Ambassador Tin Maung Swe stated that Shaanxi enjoys strengths in higher education development, and restoration and protection of cultural relics. Myanmar is willing to strengthen cooperation with Shaanxi in relevant fields. This year is the ASEAN-China Year of People-to-people Exchanges, and Myanmar would like to deliver on more cooperation projects with China, especially Shaanxi Province, under this framework, so as to bring forth more benefits to the peoples on both sides.

Shi Zhongjun underlined that the ACC, as the only inter-governmental organization co-founded by 10 AMS and China, stands ready to continue drawing on its strengths under the overarching framework of ASEAN-China Year of People-to-people Exchanges, actively promote the alignment of cooperation between ASEAN and China, especially between the Laos and Myanmar and Shaanxi Province, in the fields of trade, investment, culture, tourism and education, so as to deepen mutual understanding and trust between the peoples on both sides, thus contributing to a steady and sustained growth of ASEAN-China comprehensive strategic partnership.