Fourth Conference on China-ASEAN People-to-People Friendship Organizations

The Fourth Conference on China-ASEAN Friendship Organizations was held in Kuala Lumpur， Malaysia from July 16 to 17. Gu Xiulian， president of the China-ASEAN Association (CAA)， and about 600 leaders and representatives of friendship organizations of the 10 ASEAN countries attended the conference. The Malaysian Government attached great importance to the conference. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak who was on his overseas visit sent a letter of congratulations to the conference. Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin， Minister of Transport Ong Tee Keat， Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Koh Tsu Koon and Minister of Tourism Ng Yen Yen participated in related activities of the conference.

With the theme of “building bridges towards ASEAN-China friendship and prosperity”， a meeting of leaders of China-ASEAN people- to-people friendship organizations， an exhibition of Chinese and ASEAN commodities， China-ASEAN economic and trade talks and the China-ASEAN Education Forum were held during the conference. The conference adopted the 2009-2010 China-ASEAN People-to-People Friendship Organizations’ Cooperation Plan and decided that Singapore would be the host country of the next conference in 2010.

Conference on China-ASEAN People-to-People Friendship Organizations

The main task of this conference was to review the implementation in the past year of the cooperation plan jointly signed at the last conference by friendship organizations and to make suggestions and plans for cooperation in the coming year through extensive discussions. Through exchanging information about each other’s work， the participants learned experience and derived inspiration from each other， and through in-depth discussions detailed the cooperation plan for the following year. It was decided that in future the conference would be held around the end of July and the beginning of August every year. The participants worked out feasible plans for cooperation in the economic， cultural， educational， health and sports fields put forward in the last conference. In the economic field， the participants agreed that the exhibition of Chinese and ASEAN commodities and the China-ASEAN economic and trade talks， as parts of the conference’s contents， would be held regularly along with the conference every year. Under this mechanism multilateral and bilateral economic and trade activities are encouraged. In the cultural and tourist fields， it was decided at the conference that China-ASEAN youth performances would be included in the framework of the conference and held at the same time and place of the conference. The friendship organizations at the conference unanimously held that anniversaries of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and their respective countries would serve as opportunities to vigorously promote cooperation in culture and tourism. In the educational field， the China-ASEAN Education Forum would be included in the framework of the conference. At the same time， personnel exchanges and training would be encouraged. In the health field， the participants highly praised the “2008 China-Cambodia Friendship Bringing Light Tour” and hoped that the Chinese side would not only do a good job in the “2009 China-Vietnam Friendship Bringing Light Tour”， but also carry out cooperation in other health and medical sectors with ASEAN countries such as cooperation in primary health care and health development. In the aspect of sports and youth exchanges， the participants unanimously agreed to organize youth sports matches and summer camps at appropriate time to strengthen mutual understanding and communication between the youth of China and ASEAN countries. This conference has made nongovernmental friendly cooperation between China and ASEAN countries more practical and its contents more enriched. The nongovernmental 10+1 mechanism has been further consolidated and developed.

Exhibition of Chinese and ASEAN Commodities and China-ASEAN Economic and Trade Talks

The exhibition of Chinese and ASEAN commodities with 82 booths and the China-ASEAN economic and trade talks held during the conference attracted over 100 enterprises from China and 6 ASEAN countries， namely Malaysia， Singapore， Indonesia， Laos， Thailand and Vietnam. More than 70 Chinese entrepreneurs organized by the CPAFFC took part in the exhibition and displayed their products at 32 booths. The products of the Guangxi Golden Throat Group Co. and the Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. were highlights among China’s self-owned brands. The new energy technology exhibited by the Damei International Information Company and the Sicong Group drew great attention from the participants. Jewelry and wood carving products from Laos were welcomed by the Chinese businesspeople. At the economic and trade talks， Chinese entrepreneurs and their ASEAN counterparts had business talks and explored opportunities for business cooperation.

China-ASEAN Education Forum

More than 150 people including leaders of the friendship organizations and representatives and experts from institutions of higher learning in China and various ASEAN countries attended the first China-ASEAN Education Forum. At the forum experts from famous universities including Tsinghua University， Cheng Kung University of Taiwan， the Macau Inter-University Institute and the Singapore Nanyang Technological University gave speeches on the China-ASEAN educational cooperation entitled “Contents and Orientation of the China-ASEAN Cooperation in Education”， “Suggestions on Education in China and Singapore”，“Universities in East Asia in the 21st Century: Responsibilities and Prospects” and “Development and Challenges of Confucius Institutes in ASEAN Countries”. A representative of Tsinghua University said， the universities in China and ASEAN countries which have already acquired the most advanced educational system in the world need to further carry out cooperation and exchanges. Professor Phua Kok Khoo， director of the Senior Research Centre under Nanyang Technological University and president of the Singapore-China Friendship Association， said， universities and research institutions in Asia must bring the strength of oriental culture into full play so as to keep talented personnel from leaving. Professor Koh Hock Kiat， dean of the Confucius Institute， said， to popularize Chinese culture in ASEAN， the greatest challenge is how to make the Chinese culture integrated into local culture and life. Professor Dominic Lau with the Blue Ocean Strategy Regional Centre of the University College Sedaya International， said， the fact that China and ASEAN recognize each other’s academic credentials and degree will play a better role in promoting the development of education in China and ASEAN. Professor Augustine S. H. Ong who is academician of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia and president of the Malaysian Invention and Design Society suggested that ASEAN-China University be established as soon as possible.