On 12 December 2024, Secretary General Shi Zhongjun of the ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) was invited to attend and address the 2024 "Maritime Silk Road: One Family" ASEAN Influencer Conference in Haikou, Hainan Province. Ambassador Dato' Norman Muhamad of Malaysia to China (who delivered a video message), Acting Consul General Porpot Changyawa of the Consulate General of Thailand in Guangzhou and diplomats from Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, as well as Director General Guo Zhimin of Hainan Broadcasting Group, representatives from the Hainan Provincial Department of Tourism, Culture and Sports and over 100 well-known online influencers from China and ASEAN countries attended the event.

Shi Zhongjun said that social media is playing an increasingly important role in people-to-people exchanges between ASEAN and China, and he hoped that ASEAN and Chinese online influencers could play an essential role and contribute more to the development of the ASEAN-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership through creative works, serve as bridges and windows for the public to learn about this time-honoured partnership, and become ambassadors of goodwill to present the real story of ASEAN-China win-win cooperation to the international community. Located at the crossroads of Southeast Asia and China, Hainan has a natural advantage in deepening all-round cooperation with ASEAN. The ACC is willing to further enhance cooperation with Hainan Province, give impetus to building a closer ASEAN-China community with a shared future, and work together to write an even greater chapter of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. 

Shi Zhongjun also gave an on-site interview to media outlets such as Xinhua News Agency, China National Radio, and Global Times on the people to people exchanges between ASEAN and China and ways to enhance cooperation between ASEAN and Hainan. 

During the event, more than 100 online influencers from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam shared their understanding of ASEAN-China friendship and warm stories of people-to-people exchanges between ASEAN and China in their respective countries.