Ｎｅｗ Ｙｅａｒ Ｒｅｃｅｐｔｉｏｎ Ｈｅｌｄ ｉｎ Ｂｅｉｊｉｎｇ ｂｙ Ｃｈｉｎａ－ＡＳＥＡＮ Ａｓｓｏｃｉａｔｉｏｎ

On January 9， 2008， the China-ASEAN Association (CAA) hosted a reception in Beijing to thank the personages from all circles for their support and solicitude in the past year and together review the past and look into the future. GuXiulian， president of the CAA and vice chairperson of the NPC Standing Committee， Chen Haosu， president of the CPAFFC， Feng Zuoku， vice president of the CPAFFC and vice president of the CAA， diplomats from the Embassies of ASEAN countries and personages of all circles attended the reception.

CAA President Gu Xiulian and Indonesian Ambassador Sudrajat who is also president of ASEAN Committee in Beijing (ACB) made speeches respectively.

In her speech， President Gu Xiulian said， over the past year， China and ASEAN have strengthened mutual political trust， deepened dialogue and exchanges and achieved richer mutual benefits from cooperation. Thanks to the governmental and nongovernmental efforts， the relations between both sides made a firm step further. In 2007， in coordination with China and ASEAN， the CAA made efforts to promote friendly cooperation between the two sides. In June 2007， a CAA delegation visited Brunei and attended the 2nd Conference of China-ASEAN People-to-People Friendship Organizations. During the conference， the “ASEAN-China Friendship Exhibition” was jointly held by the CAA and the Brunei-China Friendship Association to show the fruits of China-ASEAN friendly exchanges， and together with ASEAN delegates signed the Plan of Action to Implement the Declaration on ASEAN-China People-to-People Friendship and Cooperation， a detailed blueprint for the next 5 years. In December 2007， the CAA held the China-ASEAN TV Cooperation Summit in Kunming， Yunnan Province. The summit enhanced the mutual understanding and friendship between the Chinese and ASEAN TV workers and promoted the cooperation among them. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of ASEAN， the CAA and ACB held the ASEAN Knowledge Contest on the book channel of www.sina.com.cn and the website of the CAA in 2007 to let Chinese young people know more about ASEAN. Looking into 2008， President Gu hoped the CAA would closely cooperate with all its council members and the Embassies of ASEAN countries to make more contributions to the cause of China-ASEAN friendship.

In his speech， on behalf of the ACB， Ambassador Sudrajat expressed gratitude to the CPAFFC for hosting the reception. He said: “Event such as tonight’s is important in our common efforts to further strengthen the ties that bond the governments and peoples of ASEAN and China. Historically， the peoples of Southeast Asia and China have for centuries developed strong relations. These relations have often been in the form of economic and trade connections， carried out informally， people-to-people and along traditionally-carved routes.” “Indeed， the linkages between Southeast Asia and China grew stronger with the formalization of the ASEAN-China dialogue mechanism. From the first official contact in 1991 to becoming a full dialogue partner with ASEAN in 1996， China is now fully engaged with all ASEAN countries， both within the bilateral and regional contexts. This has allowed for greater， more structured and visionary efforts to enhance regional cooperation for the benefit of all.” “In economic numbers， China’s trade volume with ASEAN countries has increased immensely over the past decade. Tourism within the ASEAN-China context is on the increase and more people are traveling between Southeast Asia and China to engage in training and education exchanges as well as other dealings. This web of relations among ASEAN countries’ peoples and their Chinese counterparts has not only enhanced feelings of mutual trust and confidence， but also laid the foundation for structures and mechanisms that would allow for stronger political， economic， and socio-culture cooperation in the future.”

He said: “the seeds for greater China-ASEAN cooperation in the field of trade and economics have been carefully planted. With the abundant resources and potential shared among the sides involved， the cooperation set off by initiatives such as the Pan-Beibu Gulf Rim Cooperation and the PPRD-ASEAN dialogue could stimulate efforts to increase the area’s competitiveness as well as the leverage of the ASEAN-China partnership in international trade and economics. The ASEAN-China Association and the CPAFFC have played an important role in showcasing and appreciating the developments in ASEAN-China relations over the years. It was with this spirit that the ASEAN Committee Beijing extended， and will continue to extend， its fullest support to the efforts of the ASEAN-China Association and the CPAFFC.”

At the reception， the participants watched a short video summarizing the work of the CAA in 2007， and the special guests drew 20 winning members for the Good Luck Prize and 3 for the Special Prize out of the participants of the ASEAN Knowledge Contest. In the warm and harmonious atmosphere of the reception， the participants exchanged good wishes for the coming New Year and together looked forward to the bright future of the cause of friendship between China and ASEAN.