China Highlights Four Key Advances in ASEAN Partnership

Manila (ANTARA) - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi set out various concrete achievements of the China-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership over the past five years whilst attending the China-ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Manila, the Philippines, on Wednesday (22/7).

Wang outlined four main areas of progress that have increasingly strengthened China-ASEAN relations.

In particular, the building of a community with a shared future with neighbouring countries has continued to gain momentum, as China has reached important understandings with eight ASEAN member states to establish a community with a shared future on a bilateral basis, Wang said.

Economic and trade relations have maintained their growth momentum following the official signing of the 3.0 Protocol on Upgrading the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA), Wang noted, highlighting the fact that China and ASEAN have been each other’s largest trading partners for six consecutive years, with bilateral trade exceeding US$1 trillion (US$1 = Rp17,909) in 2025.

Wang said the two sides have also demonstrated solidarity in times of crisis, as evidenced by the swift emergency assistance China provided after devastating earthquakes struck Myanmar and Mindanao in the Philippines.

People-to-people exchanges have flourished, with nearly 200 major events widely attended throughout the ASEAN-China Year of People-to-People Exchanges 2024-2025, and the launch of a special visa scheme for ASEAN countries will facilitate cross-border travel, Wang added.