2016's top 10 in china—asean relations

The year 2016 was a year of great significance for China-ASEAN relations， in which the two sides jointly celebrated the 25th anniversary of dialogue relations and the Year of Education Exchange. Last year also saw remarkable achievements in cooperation in economics and trade， education， people-to-people exchanges and a number of other areas. China Report ASEAN has selected the following 10 major events in the news in 2016 （in chronological order）.

1 Year of Education Exchange

On Jan. 12， the consultation meeting on the China-ASEAN Year of Education Exchange took place in Bangkok， Thailand， officially launching the project. One year on， the success of the project ushered in a new era of educational cooperation， strengthening cooperation between China and ASEAN member states in education.

2 Railway Cooperation Accelerated

On Jan. 21， the opening ceremony of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway， the first of its kind in Indonesia to be built by Chinese contractors， took place in Walini， West Java Province， marking a major achievement in China-Indonesia cooperation. The railway is an early harvest project of the integration of China’s Belt and Road Initiative with Indonesia’s Global Maritime Nexus development strategy. It is also the first step in Chinese high-speed railway technology's launch in the ASEAN market. In the same year， steady progress was made on the China-Thailand railway project. The China-Laos railway went into full scale construction in December.

3 Lancang-Mekong Cooperation （LMC）

On March 23， the First LMC Leaders' Meeting was held in Sanya， Hainan Province. Leaders of China， Cambodia， Laos， Myanmar， Thailand and Vietnam attended the meeting， which issued some important documents， including the Sanya Declaration and the Joint Statement on Production Capacity Cooperation Among the Lancang-Mekong Countries. The meeting confirmed the political framework， key priority areas and mechanisms of cooperation.

4 South China Sea Arbitration Null and Void

On July 12， the Arbitral Tribunal in the South China Sea Arbitration rendered a 1 and void “award”. At the the 17th ASEAN Plus Three （10+3） Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Vientiane， Lao PDR， on July 25， the foreign ministers issued a joint statement on the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea （DOC）. They reaffirmed the importance and role of the DOC in maintaining peace and stability in the region， and committed themselves to resolving their territorial and jurisdictional disputes by peaceful means through friendly consultations and negotiations by sovereign states directly concerned， in accordance with universally recognized principles of international law， and the full and effective implementation of the DOC in its entirety. It also promoted working substantively towards the early adoption of a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea （COC） based on consensus.

5 Aung San Suu Kyi’s Visit to China

On Aug. 17-21， State Counsellor of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi made an official visit to China. During the visit， the two sides reaffirmed the importance they attach to China-Myanmar relations， the willingness to integrate their development strategies and a decision to expand exchanges in agriculture， irrigation， education， health and other areas with direct benefits for the livelihoods of local people， while also boosting people-to-people ties for common development.

6 25th Anniversary of China-ASEAN Dialogue Relations

2016 marked the 25th anniversary of China-ASEAN dialogue relations. The two sides celebrated with various activities at different levels. On Sept. 7， the 19th China-ASEAN （10+1） Leaders' Meeting， in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of China-ASEAN dialogue relations， took place in the Laotian capital of Vientiane. The two sides issued a joint statement covering the content of the meeting， a joint statement on production capacity cooperation and other documents for maritime security cooperation.

7 13th China-ASEAN Expo

On Sept. 11-14， the 13th China-ASEAN Expo was held in Nanning， capital of China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The Expo featured “Building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road， Forging an Even Closer China-ASEAN Community of Common Destiny” as the theme， which attracted a lot of attention from China， ASEAN countries and others around the world. The Expo hosted a series of commemorative events and friendly exchanges， including 34 high-level forums， dialogues between leaders and entrepreneurs and economic and cultural activities for the promotion of ASEAN countries， injecting new impetus into China-ASEAN dialogue and cooperation.

8 Xi Jinping’s Visit to Cambodia

On Oct. 13-14， Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to the Kingdom of Cambodia. During the visit， Xi emphasized that Cambodia is an important ASEAN member. In recent years， Cambodia has made remarkable achievements in its national development and delivered a better life to its people. In regional and international affairs， Cambodia has played an increasingly important role. China and Cambodia are good neighbors and genuine trusted friends.

9 Duterte’s Visit to China

On Oct. 18-21， Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte paid a state visit to China. China was the first non-ASEAN country he visited after taking office earlier in 2016. During the visit， China announced the lifting of a travel alert for the Philippines and resumed permits to 27 Philippine companies exporting tropical fruits to its market. The two sides signed agreements worth US$13.5 billion. This visit and the official talks between the heads of state marked the resumption of friendly relations between the two countries.

10 First China-ASEAN Youth Summit

On Dec. 2-4， the First China-ASEAN Youth Summit was convened at Peking University in Beijing. The summit was initiated by Chinese and ASEAN university students and received the full support of the ASEAN-China Centre， the Center for China and Globalization， the Belt and Road Fund， China Report ASEAN and ASEAN students in Beijing. The success of the summit proved to be a platform for Chinese and ASEAN youth to interact and learn from each other. The participants benefited a lot from the interactions and brainstorming.