Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh deliveredremarks at the opening ceremony of the 11th China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) inChina’s Nanning city on September 16, describing the expo as asuccessful model of cooperation between the two sides.
Following is the full text of his remarks.
“Excellency Vice Premier Mr. Zhang Gao Li and distinguished leaders of ASEAN countries,
Ladies and gentlemen,
1. First of all, I would like to express my sincere thanksto the Government of the People’s Republic of China, theOrganising Committee of CAEXPO and the Zhuang Autonomous Region ofGuangxi province for the excellent arrangements and warm hospitalityextended to us.
2. A SEANand China has had a long history of cooperation. Especially sinceASEAN and China established relations more than 20 years ago, thisrelationship has developed by leaps and bounds, achieving remarkablegrowth in many areas such as political-security, trade, investment,transportation, science and technology, cultural and people-to-peopleexchanges…
Major progress in ASEAN-Chinapartnership is attributable to the realisation among our leaders thatour people’s aspiration for peace, stability and development could notbe fully realized without the partnership of the other.
To realise such a vision and keep pace with the trend ofdeepening globalisation and integration in the 21st century, ASEAN hastaken active steps to upgrade its partnership with China to astrategic level in 2003. This strategic move shows that therelationship goes beyond short-term interests to include commonlong-term strategic vision. Likewise, China has also brought forthmany of its own initiatives, of which this CAEXPO is among many of theconcrete initiatives.
3. Asone of the fruits of ASEAN-China strategic partnership, the CAEXPO hasentered its 11th year, proving to be a successful model ofcooperation. As China’s neighbour, Vietnam has been a consistentand active member of the CAEXPO for the past ten consecutive years. Thisyear, Vietnam has continued to have the largest number ofenterprises participating in CAEXPO among ASEAN countries with more than100 Vietnamese businesses showcasing their products and services inover 200 pavilions. We hope that through this CAEXPO, more businesscontracts will be signed, business partnerships established andtransactions successfully done between ASEAN and China businesses.
And such kinds of efforts of our businesses have paidoff. ASEAN and China have now become each other’s top trading andinvestment partners. To date, the two-way trade volume hasexpanded at an annual growth rate of more than 20 percent from 2009,with China being ASEAN’s largest trading partner since 2009, while ASEANbeing China’s third largest trading partner since 2010.
This brings home the fact that the success of the ASEAN-China economiccooperation is greatly thanks to the efforts of enterprises. I wouldlike to pay tribute to the important contributions of the businessesfrom ASEAN and China as both the beneficiary of and a decisivefactor behind any successful regional integration initiatives.
At a broader level, we are also aiming higher. Notably, the RegionalComprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) under negotiation betweenChina, ASEAN and other partners will facilitate freer flows of goods,services, investment and people. This will bring tangible benefits forall, leading to the emergence of integrated value chains and a communityof shared destiny in Asia. This calls for greater needs to have apeaceful and stable environment, a prerequisite for continued economicdevelopment in Asia. In this regard, it is essential that ASEAN andChina work more closely together for the maintenance of peace, stabilityand maritime security in the South China Sea, and for the full andeffective implementation of the Declaration of the conduct of Parties inthe South China Sea (DOC), as well as the early achievement of the Codeof Conduct (COC), on the basis of international law, including the 1982United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
4.At this forum, we would like to reiterate our commitment to create allfavorable conditions for Chinese and ASEAN enterprises to engage inlong-term business and investment in Vietnam. We are committed tomaking greater efforts to strengthen the friendship and mutuallybeneficial cooperation between China and ASEAN countries in theinterest of a prosperous, peaceful and stable Asia.
5. In today’s changing regional and international landscape, itis of strategic importance for us to deepen our partnership tocontribute to a stable and prosperous future for our people and thewhole region.
To this end, let me propose the following priorities for our cooperation:
+ Accelerate the full and effective implementation of the Plan ofAction 2011-2015, especially in priority areas such as enhancedconnectivity, narrowing development gap, science and technology,pandemic prevention, and addressing emerging challenges such as climatechange, disaster management, transnational crimes, and sustainable useof water resource in the Mekong basin etc.
+ Furtherpromote inter-connectivity, including both hardware and software side.It is essential for us to increase people-to-people contacts, culturalexchange and institutional linkages for better mutual understanding andtrust, which are the key elements for any long-lasting relationship.
+Make a better use of existing mechanisms tobolster our trade and investment cooperation, including the upgradingand effective implement ion of the ACFTA towards the set tradetarget of USD 500 billion by 2015 and USD 1 trillion by 2020, thegreater utilization of CAEXPO in bridging two sides’ enterprises aswell as the acceleration of RCEP negotiations.
Thank you”.-VNA
Following is the full text of his remarks.
“Excellency Vice Premier Mr. Zhang Gao Li and distinguished leaders of ASEAN countries,
Ladies and gentlemen,
1. First of all, I would like to express my sincere thanksto the Government of the People’s Republic of China, theOrganising Committee of CAEXPO and the Zhuang Autonomous Region ofGuangxi province for the excellent arrangements and warm hospitalityextended to us.
2. A SEANand China has had a long history of cooperation. Especially sinceASEAN and China established relations more than 20 years ago, thisrelationship has developed by leaps and bounds, achieving remarkablegrowth in many areas such as political-security, trade, investment,transportation, science and technology, cultural and people-to-peopleexchanges…
Major progress in ASEAN-Chinapartnership is attributable to the realisation among our leaders thatour people’s aspiration for peace, stability and development could notbe fully realized without the partnership of the other.
To realise such a vision and keep pace with the trend ofdeepening globalisation and integration in the 21st century, ASEAN hastaken active steps to upgrade its partnership with China to astrategic level in 2003. This strategic move shows that therelationship goes beyond short-term interests to include commonlong-term strategic vision. Likewise, China has also brought forthmany of its own initiatives, of which this CAEXPO is among many of theconcrete initiatives.
3. Asone of the fruits of ASEAN-China strategic partnership, the CAEXPO hasentered its 11th year, proving to be a successful model ofcooperation. As China’s neighbour, Vietnam has been a consistentand active member of the CAEXPO for the past ten consecutive years. Thisyear, Vietnam has continued to have the largest number ofenterprises participating in CAEXPO among ASEAN countries with more than100 Vietnamese businesses showcasing their products and services inover 200 pavilions. We hope that through this CAEXPO, more businesscontracts will be signed, business partnerships established andtransactions successfully done between ASEAN and China businesses.
And such kinds of efforts of our businesses have paidoff. ASEAN and China have now become each other’s top trading andinvestment partners. To date, the two-way trade volume hasexpanded at an annual growth rate of more than 20 percent from 2009,with China being ASEAN’s largest trading partner since 2009, while ASEANbeing China’s third largest trading partner since 2010.
This brings home the fact that the success of the ASEAN-China economiccooperation is greatly thanks to the efforts of enterprises. I wouldlike to pay tribute to the important contributions of the businessesfrom ASEAN and China as both the beneficiary of and a decisivefactor behind any successful regional integration initiatives.
At a broader level, we are also aiming higher. Notably, the RegionalComprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) under negotiation betweenChina, ASEAN and other partners will facilitate freer flows of goods,services, investment and people. This will bring tangible benefits forall, leading to the emergence of integrated value chains and a communityof shared destiny in Asia. This calls for greater needs to have apeaceful and stable environment, a prerequisite for continued economicdevelopment in Asia. In this regard, it is essential that ASEAN andChina work more closely together for the maintenance of peace, stabilityand maritime security in the South China Sea, and for the full andeffective implementation of the Declaration of the conduct of Parties inthe South China Sea (DOC), as well as the early achievement of the Codeof Conduct (COC), on the basis of international law, including the 1982United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
4.At this forum, we would like to reiterate our commitment to create allfavorable conditions for Chinese and ASEAN enterprises to engage inlong-term business and investment in Vietnam. We are committed tomaking greater efforts to strengthen the friendship and mutuallybeneficial cooperation between China and ASEAN countries in theinterest of a prosperous, peaceful and stable Asia.
5. In today’s changing regional and international landscape, itis of strategic importance for us to deepen our partnership tocontribute to a stable and prosperous future for our people and thewhole region.
To this end, let me propose the following priorities for our cooperation:
+ Accelerate the full and effective implementation of the Plan ofAction 2011-2015, especially in priority areas such as enhancedconnectivity, narrowing development gap, science and technology,pandemic prevention, and addressing emerging challenges such as climatechange, disaster management, transnational crimes, and sustainable useof water resource in the Mekong basin etc.
+ Furtherpromote inter-connectivity, including both hardware and software side.It is essential for us to increase people-to-people contacts, culturalexchange and institutional linkages for better mutual understanding andtrust, which are the key elements for any long-lasting relationship.
+Make a better use of existing mechanisms tobolster our trade and investment cooperation, including the upgradingand effective implement ion of the ACFTA towards the set tradetarget of USD 500 billion by 2015 and USD 1 trillion by 2020, thegreater utilization of CAEXPO in bridging two sides’ enterprises aswell as the acceleration of RCEP negotiations.
Thank you”.-VNA
