Ｃｈｉｎａ－ＡＳＥＡＮ Ａｓｓｏｃｉａｔｉｏｎ Ｌａｕｎｃｈｅｄ

The establishment of the China-ASEAN Association was declared on August 3， 2004. Gu Xiulian， vice chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress， took up the presidency.

The China-ASEAN Association， initiated by the CPAFFC and the relevant enterprises， institutions and social groups as well as personages of various circles enthusiastic in promoting friendship between China and ASEAN， is a national non-profit organization. The Association aims to promote cooperation in the areas of politics， culture， economy and trade， science and technology， sports， health and tourism between China and all ASEAN countries in the form of people-to-people or nongovernmental contact and further enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the people of China and ASEAN countries through organizing personnel exchanges， sponsoring seminars and other cultural activities.

The CPAFFC and the China-ASEAN Association jointly held a reception to celebrate the establishment of the China-ASEAN Association. Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi and ambassadors of ASEAN countries to China were present at the reception. Gu Xiulian， vice chairperson of the NPC Standing Committee and president of the China-ASEAN Association， said in her speech， China and ASEAN countries are good neighbours and there exists long and traditional friendship between them. China attaches great importance to its relations with all ASEAN countries. In recent years， China-ASEAN mutually beneficial cooperation in all fields has achieved rapid progress. Their relations have entered a period of increasingly close political relations and all-round development of economic and trade cooperation. She expressed the belief that the China-ASEAN Association will make contributions to the promotion of friendship and cooperation between the people of China and all ASEAN countries by bringing into full play the initiative of the people and mobilizing the strength of various social sectors.

In his speech， CPAFFC President Chen Haosu pointed out， the establishment of the China-ASEAN Association is in keeping with the trend of building up a strategic partnership of peace and prosperity between China and ASEAN in the 21st century， reflecting the Chinese people’s wish to develop friendly and cooperative ties with all ASEAN countries， and will surely unite and coordinate various social forces to work for the enhancement of friendship and cooperation between the people of China and the ASEAN countries.

Malaysian Ambassador to China Dato’ Abdul Majid Ahmad Khan made a speech on behalf of the ten ASEAN countries. He extended warm congratulations on the launching of the China-ASEAN Association and called it an important milestone in people-to-people communication and cooperation between China and ASEAN. He said: “The friendship associations that exist between China and individual ASEAN states have played an important role in increasing the mutual understanding and awareness among the peoples of the two sides particularly in the early years of our contact. The China-ASEAN Association will further supplement the roles of the existing mechanisms.” He expressed the hope that “this collaboration will further strengthen the 10+1 process at the level of people-to-people exchange” and that “this regional collaboration will attain its objective in further enhancing the existing China-ASEAN friendship and understanding”.