ASEAN-CHINA JOINT STATEMENT
ON DEEPENING COOPERATION IN PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE EXCHANGES
We, the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the People's Republic of China, gathered at the 27th ASEAN-China Summit in Vientiane, Lao PDR on 10 October 2024; RECALLING the key joint documents of ASEAN-China relations, including Joint Statement of the ASEAN-China Special Summit to Commemorate the 30th Anniversary of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations, the Plan of Action to Implement the ASEANChina Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity (2021 – 2025) and its Annex, and the ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership Vision 2030; AFFIRMING the necessity of advocating respect for cultural diversity, cultural inheritance and innovation, inter-civilisation dialogues, and stronger international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation; RECOGNISING that people-to-people exchanges are an important pillar of ASEANChina relations and play a significant role in strengthening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between ASEAN and China, by enhancing mutual understanding and trust, promoting economic and social development, and maintaining regional peace and stability; ACKNOWLEDGING that the ASEAN-China Year of People-to-People Exchanges in 2024 has helped peoples on both sides to enhance mutual understanding and friendship, through closer people-to-people exchanges in various fields; REAFFIRMING China's support for ASEAN Centrality in the evolving regional architecture and all ASEAN-led mechanisms. FURTHER REAFFIRMING our shared commitment to good governance, international law, sovereignty, non-intervention, complementarity with existing cooperation frameworks, equality, mutual respect, mutual trust, mutual benefit, openness and inclusiveness, in the spirit of peace, cooperation and amity; and COMMITTED to deepening exchanges and mutual learning, and expanding friendship and cooperation between ASEAN and China. ACKNOWLEDGING China's active efforts to promote closer ASEAN-China cooperation, including China's vision to build a closer ASEAN-China community with a shared future and taking note of China's initiative to build a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable home in the region. Hereby agree on the following:
Education. Support cooperation in education across the educational levels from preschool to higher education, including technical and vocational education and adult learning, with a focus on digital transformation and making education more responsive to the needs and trends of the labour market. Expand student exchanges in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, and explore collaboration in teacher training and the joint organisation of student programmes. Welcome China's offer to double the number of ASEANChina Young Leaders Scholarship in the next five years and encourage more ASEAN nationals to take up the Scholarships. Strengthen cooperation in research and development among universities and research agencies, including in enhancing East Asian studies in the region, through activities as agreed upon by parties involved. Public health. Implement the initiatives on universal health care, health promotion, pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, One Health Initiative and strengthen health and food safety systems, and maximise digital health technologies. Enhance exchanges on traditional, complementary medicine, as well as vaccine, therapeutic and diagnostic research and development. Youth. Strengthen people-to-people cooperation on initiatives such as research studies and seminars through mutual exchanges of youth from ASEAN and China, and support flagship projects including the ASEAN-China Youth Camp and the ASEAN-China Young Leaders Exchange Festival. Tourism. Work towards establishing the ASEAN-China Ministerial Meeting Mechanism on Tourism. Explore measures and policies to increase tourism flows to pre-pandemic levels and beyond. Support the development of quality, inclusive and accessible tourism, including, but not limited to, blue- and ecotourism, through, where appropriate, the promotion of tourism investment, and capacity-building programmes for sustainable tourism. Promote the safety of tourists and sharing of information and knowledge in the areas of preservation and conservation of tourist attractions. Explore exchanges on development of transportation, especially air connectivity and accessibility to tourist destinations. Culture. Deepen cooperation in folk art, cultural exhibition and museums, mutual translation of classic books, creative cultural industries, cultural festivals and folk traditions. Encourage more capacity building and frequent exchanges between art troupes and institutions on both sides. Sports. Expand sports exchanges through the ASEAN Plus China sports cooperation mechanism, including traditional sports and games, encourage local sports cooperation, enhance athlete performance through collaborations for coaches, sports medicine professionals, and sports science practitioners and support each other in hosting sports events. Sustainable development. Strengthen cooperation in poverty reduction and rural revitalisation, including within the framework of the ASEAN Villages Network (AVN). Promote closer cooperation in disaster risk reduction and management, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and climate change mitigation and adaptation. Advance exchanges in governance, anti-corruption, rule of law, public policy and human rights through relevant ASEAN-led mechanisms and ASEAN bodies. Promote cooperation on environmental protection and biodiversity conservation including through collaboration with the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB). Work together to promote and protect the well-being of women, children, youths, the elderly/older persons, persons with disabilities, migrant workers, ethnic minority groups, where applicable, and vulnerable groups. - Think tanks and media. Consider the possibility of an ASEAN-China Network of Academies on Governance and Public Administration and Think Tanks as a platform for dialogue, capacity building and joint research. Encourage exchanges among academia, including Track 1.5 and Track 2 dialogues through agreed mechanism. Encourage media organisations on both sides to carry out cooperation in co-production, news gathering and editing, inter-broadcasting, new media and advanced technologies, capacity building against disinformation, and personnel exchanges. Explore the exchange of and promote the broadcasting of films and TV series, and artists. Make full use of new channels such as online literature, electronic games and short videos for “internet+peopleto-people exchanges" in line with respective countries' laws and regulations.
Scientific and technological innovation. Encourage the promotion of and application of digital technologies in ASEAN-China people-to-people exchanges. Continue to implement and improve joint research, encourage the exchanges of science and technology innovative personnel, and explore opportunities to strengthen engagement and contributions of women and youth in scientific and technological innovation. Human resources development. Deepen cooperation on human resources capacity building and services and vocational skills development in areas of mutual interests through dialogue and collaborative projects. Employment. Explore the possibility of conducting a dialogue on employment. Promote high-quality and full employment, improve the public employment services system, and strengthen employment assistance for key groups. Enhance employability of the workforce through lifelong learning, continuing professional development and digital skills training, including capacity building that supports digital transformation and green employment. Cooperation among localities. Enhance cooperation among cities (provinces/states) and villages, while noting the work of non-governmental organisations to promote more activities of friendly exchanges. Make full use of the ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) as an essential platform to host more people-to-people exchange activities to strengthen friendship between ASEAN and China. Optimise the use of the ASEAN-China Cooperation Fund (ACCF) to develop more projects that promote people-to-people exchanges and cooperation between the two sides. - Extend the ASEAN-China Year of People-to-People Exchanges to 2025.
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