Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Photo: tempo.co) Addressing the Special Summit to Commemorate the 30th Anniversary of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations, he said that strong relations between ASEAN and China take hard work, one of which is by building trust in order to build a stronger and mutually beneficial partnership in the next 30 years.
“This mutual trust can be realised if we all respect international law,” he sressed.
Widodo underscored that the ASEAN-China partnership needs to be strengthened to make the region an economic powerhouse, adding that balanced trade is also essential to carry on.
To that end, cooperation to support the economic transition, energy transition, and digital transition is pivotal for future cooperation, he emphasised.
He called on ASEAN and China to strengthen cooperation so as to recover together and recover stronger, believing that the ASEAN-China comprehensive strategic partnership will serve as a big leap for the progress of ASEAN-China relations in the future.
The ASEAN-China trade value posted an 82-fold increase in less than 30 years, surging from 8.36 billion USD in 1991 and it reached more than 685.28 billion USD last year, the President said.
In addition, two-way cumulative investment has also exceeded 310 billion USD over the past three decades, making China the fourth largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) among all ASEAN dialogue partners./.
VNA
