Bringing Young People Together

Wang Jiping

Second iteration of China-ASEAN Youth Summit held in Beijing attracts young attendees from across ASEAN and China

On Nov. 24， the 2nd China-ASEAN Youth Summit， under the theme of “Embrace for Change， Gear Forward： Celebrating 50th Anniversary of ASEAN”， was held at Peking University in Beijing. Initiated by international students from ASEAN countries including Malaysia and Singapore in cooperation with Chinese students， the summit focused on issues including the relationship between China and ASEAN and communication and exchange between young people on both sides.

Heritage and Expectation

“We the nations and peoples of Southeast Asia must work together to develop a new framework for our region，” said Philippine Ambassador to China Jose Santiago L. Sta. Romana， speaking at the summit. “It is important that we become a family of Southeast Asian nations bound together by ties of friendship and goodwill. With the establishment of ASEAN， we have taken a firm and a bold step down that road.”

Romana also called on young people across ASEAN to continue to pass down the spirit and heritage of the 1967 Bangkok Declaration， which is ASEANs founding document.

Romana said that based on the Declaration， during the past 50 years， ASEAN countries have become more involved and worked together for lasting peace， regional stability and mutual prosperity while balancing the interests of each ASEAN member nation. Moreover， as good neighbors， ASEAN and China have extended friendship while conquering difficulties and reducing disputes， Romana added.

Under the chairmanship of the Philippines， ASEAN has made tremendous progress this year. For example， the South China Sea dispute has been resolved.

Since the establishment of China-ASEAN Dialogue Partnership in 1991， China has been a strong supporter of ASEAN. Now， China is ASEANs largest trade partner， while ASEAN has become Chinas fourth largest trade partner. China is deepening cooperation with ASEAN in many other areas as well. For example， last year， almost 20 million Chinese tourists visited ASEAN countries， and over 10 million people from ASEAN countries visited China.

“I just came back from the 20th China-ASEAN Summit， during which several joint declarations on areas including infrastructure construction were reached，” Romana said， adding that he believes that with the continuous efforts of the young generations of China and ASEAN， cooperation between both sides will become broader and the relationship between the peoples will become closer.

Confidence and Actions

Echoing Romanas words， Tang Shi Xuan， secretary general of the 2nd China-ASEAN Youth Summit and a Malaysian student at Peking University， said that the young generations of China and ASEAN countries have done an excellent job of cooperating with one another in trying to promote the China-ASEAN relationship.

“We are students from ASEAN countries who have learned a lot about China，” Tang said. “As well-educated people， we have the ability and knowledge to express ideas on issues of deep concern for people on both sides. To some extent， this summit serves as a platform for us to pick out the hottest issues to discuss openly and to make our voices heard.”

For example， tackling trans-boundary environmental pollution has been a priority for China and ASEAN cooperation in environmental protection， with cross-border smog and Mekong River pollution becoming widespread in recent years.

Wu Si Min， a Singaporean student at Peking University， spoke on the importance of air pollution issues.

“With increasingly severe air pollution， we， as young people， have to step up and establish a youth action network to deal with air pollution，” Wu said.

Additionally， the students in attendance said they could do more to improve China-ASEAN educational cooperation. At the summit， an information station formed by ASEAN students in Beijing was organized and guidebooks such as the Handbook for ASEAN Students were compiled by the students themselves. Moreover， by conducting a cultural adaptation survey of ASEAN students in Beijing， the students believe they can assist educational research institutions.

“I am very happy that officials like the ambassador have begun to care more about student activities，” said Nguyen An Ha， a Peking University student from Vietnam. Nguyen added that in the future， apart from continuously promoting mutual understanding between Chinese and ASEAN young people through traditional cultural communication， she will urge more people to attend social activities involving communication between people from China and ASEAN member states.

“Though we have learned a lot about China during our time studying here， university is still a relatively enclosed environment for us，” Nguyen added. “So if we want to fully adapt to the Chinese lifestyle， we need to increase our communication with Chinese citizens. It would also be good for us to work for Chinese companies to learn more about China. That way， we can gain more experience and share it with people from our ASEAN countries， particularly during the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Contest at the summit. In doing so， we can also make the summit more lively for its participants.”