Source: FN
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Wednesday that China is an indispensable strategic partner for ASEAN and hopes that ASEAN-China relations will continue to be strong, stable and mutually-beneficial.
The 21st ASEAN-China Summit was held in Singapore on 15 November 2018, presided over by Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong, with a participation of leaders of ASEAN Member countries and Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang.
The summit was held under the theme of reviewing ASEAN-China cooperation and future directions. On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership, the ASEAN leaders highly appreciated the milestones resulting from ASEAN-China cooperation, which has contributed to the cause of stability, security, economy, trade, investment, diplomacy and people-to-people relations.
The premier also highlighted four key points in the framework of further strengthening and expanding ASEAN-China cooperation as Cambodia supports: (1) ASEAN-China Joint Statement on Science, Technology and Innovation, (2) Work Plan on Enhancing ASEAN-China Cooperation through Information and Media 2018-2020, (3) implementation of the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) 2025, and (4) expansion of ASEAN-China cooperation in trade, investment and tourism.
The summit emphasized the importance of non-militarisation and self-restraint in the conduct of all activities by claimants and all other states; and agreed to adopt ASEAN-China Summit Chairman’s Statement; ASEAN-China Joint Statement on Science, Technology and Innovation; ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership Vision 2030, ASEAN-China Plan of Action 2016-2020.
In 2017, China remained as ASEAN’s largest trading partner with total merchandise trade at USD 436.8 billion. China also rose from being ASEAN’s fourth largest external source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to third largest, with FDI flows amounting to USD 11.3 billion in 2017.