By ASEAN-China Centre (ACC)

On March 28， 2018， H.E. Mme. Yang Xiuping， Secretary-General of ASEAN-China Centre （ACC）， attended the opening ceremony of the International Symposium on Celebrating the 15th Anniversary of ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership and delivered remarks.

Secretary-General Yang Xiuping warmly welcomed all participants to attend the symposium. She expressed her appreciation to the Peoples Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region for the great efforts in preparing for this symposium and all co-organizers and partner co-organizers for their hard work. She said that Guangxi， connected with ASEAN countries by land and sea， is a gateway for ASEAN-China cooperation. China-ASEAN Expo （CAEXPO）， held in Nanning， Guangxi， every year since 2004， has become an important reflection and a shining brand of the close ASEAN-China cooperation. It is of significance to hold this symposium in Nanning in the year which marks the 15th anniversary of ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership and the CAEXPO.

Secretary-General Yang said that ASEAN and China have forged an all-around， multi-tiered and wide-ranging cooperation framework since the establishment of Strategic Partnership 15 years ago and achieved remarkable outcomes. ASEAN-China relations have become the most robust and dynamic relationship that ASEAN has with its dialogue partners. It has not only promoted the common development of ASEAN and China， but also made important contribution to the peace， development and prosperity of this region. After 15 years development， both ASEAN and China have entered a new era of development. China has become the second largest economy in the world， moving closer to the centre of the world stage as never before. The Communist Party of China （CPC） has successfully convened its 19th National Congress， which marked a new journey of Chinas development in a new era. ASEAN， as the 6th largest economy in the world， celebrated its 50th anniversary of establishment last year and is pursing the ASEAN Community Vision 2025. With the development of a multi-polar world， economic globalization， IT application and cultural diversity， and against the backdrop of a new round of technological and industrial revolution， ASEAN-China relations will assume greater strategic significance and influence.

Secretary-General Yang said that to deepen ASEAN-China strategic partnership is the call of the times and meets the needs of development of both sides， which is also in the fundamental interests of the 2 billion-plus people of both sides. ASEAN has entered the second 50-year-development in 2018. It is the beginning year for China to translate the spirit of the 19th CPC national congress into action and marks the 40th anniversary of Chinas reform and opening up. The year 2018 is also designated as the ASEAN-China Year of Innovation. ASEAN and China are actively implementing the upgraded CAFTA， jointly building the Belt and Road. ASEAN-China relations are embracing new opportunities. She sincerely hoped that all the guests could take the opportunity of this symposium to review the development path and experience of the strategic partnership over the last 15 years， contribute thoughts on how to further deepen ASEAN-China economic cooperation， innovative development as well as people-to-people exchanges， so as to implement the leaders consensus and further advance the ASEAN-China strategic partnership. ACC would like to work together with all sectors of both sides， to push forward ASEAN-China strategic partnership to a brighter future.