Tomorrow’s Pioneers

By Wang Fengjuan

In his speech at the opening of the Third China-ASEAN Youth Summit in Beijing， Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for Community and Corporate Affairs Dr. AKP Mochtan underscored the important role of young people， stressing that with their tremendous influence， they can contribute greatly to the friendly ties between China and ASEAN and have greater say in world affairs.

As an event organized by college students for college students， the China-ASEAN Youth Summit has presented three sessions so far and grown into maturity alongside the young people it represents.

Lasting Friendship

Themed “The ASEAN Way： Deepening Global Engagement in the 21st Century，” the third session opened in Yingjie Exchange Center at Peking University in Beijing on October 18， 2018. About 200 people attended the opening ceremony. Among them were Mr. Mochtan， Yang Xiuping， former Chinese ambassador to ASEAN and former secretary-general of China-ASEAN Center， Zhou Guomei， deputy director of China-ASEAN Environmental Cooperation Center， Dong Xia， deputy secretary-general of the All-China Youth Federation， Yang Xiaochun， deputy director of the Ministry of Educations China Center for International People-to-People Exchange， and student representatives from China and ASEAN countries.

Mr. Mochtan proclaimed young people are the future of mankind and urged them to find direction for their development. He offered some advice for young people： First， they should be creative and curious to foster innovation for the new times； second， they should be open to learning and understanding different cultures； third， they should make good use of time， especially during the prime years of their lives. Mr. Mochtan looks to young people to become the driver and pillar of future cooperation between China and ASEAN countries.

At the First China-ASEAN Youth Summit in 2016， Yang Xiuping， then secretary-general of China-ASEAN Center， said to the young people in the audience， “Most of you were born in the 1990s. The first 25 years of your life coincided with the period when the China-ASEAN relations sprouted and matured.” At the 2018 summit， Yang noted that although the third session convened under a new theme， friendship between China and ASEAN， as well as resolve to create a better future， remained unchanged.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the China-ASEAN strategic partnership， the 40th anniversary of Chinas reform and opening-up and the beginning of the second 50 years of ASEAN. As they reach maturity， China-ASEAN relations have transcended scope to become an engine for world peace and stability. China and ASEAN are now cooperating with clearer goals， along a clearer path and on a stronger foundation. Yang expressed hope that young people would serve as a bond between the two sides and carry forward friendly cooperation to create a better future.

Xudalad Bounleut， a student from Laos enrolled at China Foreign Affairs University， has attended all three sessions of the summit， as a volunteer at the first two and as a student representative at the latest. She believes topics at the summit have become closer to reality over the past three years， more relevant to youth and more responsive to the trends of global development. “I want to join the Foreign Ministry after I return to Laos to stay personally involved in construction of the China-ASEAN community with a shared future，” she revealed.

Tang Shixuan has also participated in all three sessions of the summit and served as secretary-general of the second. He is now pursuing a masters degree in international relations at Peking University. He stressed that the summit is a platform launched by students and has been improving thanks to support from all of society. He hopes that Chinese and ASEAN youth can use it to showcase their talents， enhance mutual trust and lay a foundation for future friendly cooperation and common development of their countries.

“China-ASEAN relations are now positioned at a historic crossroads，” remarked Li Keyong， secretary of the Secretariat of National Committee of Communist Youth League of China. “As neighbors， we have no reason not to co-exist in harmony or cooperate to seek mutual development. I hope that young people will carry forward China-ASEAN friendship， spearhead bilateral cooperation and help build the China-ASEAN community with a shared future.”

Heeding Young Voices

Every session of the China-ASEAN Youth Summit has organized sub-summits to address hot-button international issues as well as simulated summits at which students delivered speeches in a “play” capacity. At the 2018 session， student representatives exchanged views at a simulated summit on the action plan for Lancang-Mekong development. They took roles as delegates of countries in the Lancang-Mekong region （China， Thailand， Laos， Myanmar， Cambodia and Vietnam）， ASEAN members outside the region （Singapore， Malaysia， the Philippines， Indonesia， and Brunei） as well as Japan and South Korea to engage in extensive discussions which resulted in a youth action plan on green development in the Lancang-Mekong region.

At the event， young participants reviewed results of regional cooperation in water resources， youth affairs， green development and internet innovation， and recognized the importance of such cooperation for ASEAN Plus Three （China， Japan and South Korea） cooperation， ASEAN integration and sub-regional development. They confirmed the remarkable progress in the three pillar areas of cooperation， namely， political security， economy and trade， and social and people-to-people exchanges， as well as in the five key priority areas， namely， connectivity， production capacity， cross-border economic cooperation， water resources， and agriculture and poverty reduction. They determined that cooperation in the Lanchang-Mekong region is wide-ranging， led by state leaders of relevant countries and fueled by the governmental agencies in these countries. They also noticed that a multi-faceted， multi-level dialogue mechanism has been put in place for cooperation consisting of the leaders meeting， foreign ministers meeting， senior officials meeting， young leaders meeting and working group meetings in various fields.

After debate， “delegates” agreed that a core issue in water resource cooperation in the Lancang-Mekong region is the interest conflict among countries in the upper and lower reaches of the river—which should be given higher priority， conservation or development？ On this issue， young participants reached the following consensus：

1. Relevant countries should establish political mutual trust and develop the river following the principle of sustainability to make “green” use of water resources. Countries in the upper reaches need to conduct study and survey on water exploitation projects to minimize the possible environmental impact on those in the lower reaches.

2. Relevant countries should support each other in green development， mitigate conflict over water resources and conduct more technical mutual-aid and cooperation on development of green projects. They should conduct active exchanges on experience in intensive economics and establish mutual-aid mechanisms for industrial development. A green development fund should be established with contributions from the six countries in the Lancang-Mekong region. Meanwhile， the China-ASEAN Investment Corporation Fund should make a special allocation for water resource cooperation to offer financial assistance and loans for green development in involved countries.

At the simulated ministers meeting， “delegates” offered advice on exchanges between China and ASEAN youth： establish an educational NGO jointly led by China and ASEAN that regularly organizes offline employment activities， offer online courses on leadership capacity and creativity， launch student exchange and summer camp programs， mutually accept academic credits to encourage cross-border exchanges between college students， establish two foundations for education and innovation to support educational/training and innovation/entrepreneurship-encouraging activities by the proposed NGO， and open an innovation incubation base in response to the advent of Internet Plus economy to facilitate the establishment of more China-ASEAN joint ventures in scientific and technological innovation and cooperation.

At these simulated summits and meetings， young participants gained more insight on the situation facing China and ASEAN countries and delved deeper into pressing regional issues. The proposals they presented may not be perfect， but their discussions prompted more attention on and contemplation of international relations.

Thanat Koedkhumthong is a Thai student at Beijing Normal University. He thinks that discussion of hot-button international issues increases mutual understanding between the youth of China and ASEAN. Ong Wei Shan Ebelle， a Singaporean student at Peking University， served as secretary-general of the 2018 China-ASEAN Youth Summit. She considers the summit a good platform for young people to ignite sparks of thought and experience diverse cultures. She looks forward to seeing the event produce more fruits next year.

“I have learned so much from the summit and will join the debate next year，” exclaimed Sukanan Thinniwet from China Foreign Affairs University.