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CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT OF THE 23rd ASEAN-CHINA SUMMIT
Viet Nam, 12 November 2020
1. The 23rd ASEAN-China Summit was held via video conference on 12 November
2020. The Summit was chaired by H.E. Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, Prime Minister of the
Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, and attended by Heads of State/Government and High
Representatives of ASEAN Member States and H.E. Li Keqiang, Premier of the State
Council of People’s Republic of China. The Secretary-General of ASEAN was also in
attendance.
2. We noted with satisfaction the progress made in the implementation of the 2016-
2020 Plan of Action to Implement the Joint Declaration on ASEAN-China Strategic
Partnership for Peace and Prosperity. We welcomed the adoption of the new Plan
of Action for the period 2021-2025 that will guide both sides in further strengthening
the ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations in the next five years, as well as the effective
implementation of the ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership Vision 2030.
3. We reiterated support to the priorities of ASEAN in advancing a “Cohesive and
Responsive” ASEAN under Viet Nam’s Chairmanship this year and welcomed the
ASEAN Leaders’ Vision Statement on a Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN: Rising
Above Challenges and Sustaining Growth, adopted at the 36th ASEAN Summit on 26
June 2020. We underlined the need to strengthen regional solidarity and maintain the
ASEAN Centrality to respond effectively to current and future challenges as well as
harness opportunities including those brought about by digital transformation and the
Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
4. We recognised the unprecedented challenges posed by the Coronavirus
Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the region and the world and
underscored the importance of strengthened international collaboration in addressing
the challenges of COVID-19 pandemic and other public health emergencies. We also
highlighted the need for joint collaboration on scientific research, development, and
production of vaccines and medicine that meet international health standards and are
effective, affordable and accessible to all, whilst building and maintaining resilient,
open, and connected regional supply chains and supporting a sustained economic
recovery. Towards this end, ASEAN welcomed China’s contribution to the COVID-19
ASEAN Response Fund as well as an exclusive allocation of the ASEAN-China
Cooperation Fund to support programs in the public health sector and provision of
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medical supplies and equipment to ASEAN Member States. ASEAN looked forward to
China’s support for the ASEAN Regional Reserve of Medical Supplies for Public Health
Emergency. ASEAN appreciated China’s commitment that its COVID-19 vaccines once
developed will be provided to ASEAN countries as a public good and on a priority basis.
We also welcome China’s participation in the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access
Facility (COVAX) to ensure the equitable distribution of vaccines, especially to
developing countries, underscoring our support for vaccine multilateralism. ASEAN
Leaders also encouraged support from China for ASEAN’s efforts to recover from the
impact of COVID-19 and the implementation of the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery
Framework and its Implementation Plan.
5. We reaffirmed the importance of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in the
Southeast Asia (TAC) as the key code of conduct governing inter-State relations in the
region, underscored its relevance to the wider region and recognised its contribution
to promoting regional peace, stability, and security.
6. We underscored our support for maintaining t h e ASEAN Centrality and unity
in the evolving regional architecture and reiterated our commitment to support an
ASEAN-centred regional architecture that is open, transparent, inclusive and rules-
based, built upon ASEAN-led mechanisms, strengthening the efficiency of and
promoting mutually-reinforcing synergy among ASEAN-led mechanisms, including the
ASEAN Plus One, ASEAN Plus Three (APT), East Asia Summit (EAS), ASEAN
Regional Forum (ARF), and ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus).
We underscored the importance of multilateralism, regionalism and international law
in contributing to global and regional peace, stability and prosperity. ASEAN Leaders
further affirmed the principles stated in the AOIP, including strengthening ASEAN
Centrality, openness, transparency, inclusivity, a rules-based framework, good
governance, respect for sovereignty, non-intervention, complementarity with existing
cooperation frameworks, equality, mutual respect, mutual trust, mutual benefit, and
respect for international law. ASEAN Member States encouraged the enhancement of
cooperation in the key areas of cooperation identified in the Outlook to enhance mutual
trust, mutual respect and mutual benefit through ASEAN-led mechanisms.
7. We reaffirmed our commitment to maintain peace, security, stability and
development, including through supporting the work of the ASEAN Intergovernmental
Commission of Human Rights (AICHR) in the promotion and protection of the human
rights in the region.
8. We reaffirmed our commitment to supporting and maintaining a free, open,
transparent, inclusive, and rules-based multilateral trading system that promotes
economic cooperation. We welcomed the significant progress made towards finalizing
the negotiations of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
Agreement. We welcomed the conclusion and signing of the RCEP agreement at the
4th RCEP Summit on 15 November 2020 which demonstrated our strong commitment
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to supporting economic recovery, inclusive development as well as our support for an
open, inclusive, rules-based trade and investment arrangement.
9. We reiterated the commitment to cooperate in combating transnational crimes,
including illicit drug trafficking and addressing other non-traditional security issues
through various mechanisms including the ASEAN Plus China Ministerial and Senior
Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (AMMTC and SOMTC+China) Consultations
and the ASEAN Senior Officials on Drug Matters (ASOD)+China Consultations,
and looked forward to the effective implementation of the ASEAN-China Work Plan on
Cooperation in the Field of Non-Traditional Security Issues (2019-2023). We took note
that China put forward its Global Initiative on Data Security and welcomed the
establishment of an ASEAN-China Cyber Dialogue to further deepen communications
and exchanges on cybersecurity policy and digital governance.
10. We agreed to enhance ASEAN-China cooperation to galvanize our efforts in
mitigating the impact of COVID-19, as underlined during the Special ASEAN Plus
Three Summit on COVID-19 on 14 April 2020 via videoconference as well as the
Special ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on COVID-19 on 20 February 2020
in Vientiane, the ASEAN-China Transport Ministers’ Special Meeting on COVID-19 on
16 July 2020. ASEAN and China continued to strengthen cooperation through ASEAN
platforms and mechanisms, including regular, timely and transparent sharing and
exchanges of situation updates, technical information and experiences in response to
the outbreak, as well as sharing experiences in prevention and control, diagnosis and
treatment, and other aspects of national responses. ASEAN welcomed China’s
commitment to keep markets open for trade and investment, and to strengthen the
resiliency and sustainability of regional supply chains especially for essential goods
such as food, commodities, medicines and medical supplies. We underscored the need
to strengthen cooperation in public health including exploring the establishment of an
ASEAN-China liaison mechanism for public health emergencies.
11. We noted the importance of the digital economy to regional resilience which
had been underscored by the COVID-19 outbreak. In this regard, we welcomed the
launching ceremony of the ASEAN-China Year of Digital Economy Cooperation
conducted on 12 June 2020 via videoconference under the theme of “Combating
COVID-19 through Joint Efforts and Cooperation through ICT and Digital
Development” and expressed appreciation for the Messages of Congratulations
delivered by H.E. Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Viet
Nam as the ASEAN Chair 2020, and H.E Li Keqiang, Premier of the State Council of
the People's Republic of China, at the launching ceremony. We welcomed the adoption
of the Initiative on Building ASEAN-China Partnership on Digital Economy and agreed
to formulate its work plan to explore practical cooperation to realise the Initiative. We
also noted the activities conducted under the ASEAN-China Year of Digital Economy
Cooperation in 2020. We looked forward to continuing building closer cooperation in
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science, technology and innovation through mechanism such as the ASEAN-China
Joint Science Technology Committee and the ASEAN-China Science and Technology
Ministers’ Meeting, and we also look forward to the initiatives that will further enhance
mechanisms on this area of cooperation.
12. We welcomed the robust growth of ASEAN-China trade and investment in spite
of the global economic downturn and international trade contraction due to the COVID-
19 pandemic. China maintained its position as ASEAN’s largest trading partner since
2009 and in 2019, China was ASEAN’s fourth largest external source of FDI among
ASEAN’s Dialogue Partners. According to preliminary ASEAN data, total merchandise
trade between ASEAN and China in 2019 reached USD 507.9 billion, accounting for
18.0 per cent of ASEAN’s total merchandise trade. During the first half of 2020, the
trade volume between ASEAN and China increased by 2.2% where ASEAN leaps to
become China’s largest trading partner for the first time, making ASEAN and China
each other’s top trading partner. Total Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows from
China to ASEAN amounted to USD 9.1 billion in 2019, accounting for 5.7 per cent of
ASEAN’s total FDI.
13. We welcomed the progress of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA)
implementation, including the agreement on the next steps of the Future Work
Programme under the Protocol to Amend the Framework Agreement on
Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Certain Agreements thereunder between
ASEAN and China (ACFTA Upgrading Protocol). We welcomed the issuance of the
Report on the 10-Year Development of the ASEAN–China Free Trade Area Since Its
Full Establishment. We also welcomed the approval of the two project proposals
submitted under China’s grant of RMB 50 million (approximately USD 7.3 million) to
support ACFTA implementation, namely the “Outreach Program on Revised ROO
under ACFTA Upgrading Protocol” and “Enhance ASEAN Tourism Digital Platforms”,
and looked forward to the implementation of the two projects. We also encouraged
greater efforts to further facilitate the implementation of the ACFTA.
14. We agreed to strengthen cooperation on promoting trade and investment to
accelerate economic recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this
regard, we welcomed the ASEAN-China Economic Ministers' Joint Statement on
Combating the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and Enhancing the ACFTA
Cooperation, issued on 29 May 2020, which reaffirms ASEAN-China commitment to
facilitate trade and investment, maintain the regional and global supply chains, mitigate
the economic impact of the pandemic, and build a stronger economic region.
15. We looked forward to the 17th China ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) which will be held
on 27-30 November 2020 in Nanning, China with the theme “Building the Belt and
Road, Strengthening Digital Economy Cooperation”, and expressed appreciation for
China’s organization of the relevant forums on various issues and commemorative
activities to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the full establishment of the ACFTA on
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the sidelines of the 17th CAEXPO this year. We welcomed the opportunity for ASEAN
goods and products to be showcased at the 3rd China International Import Expo on 5-
10 November 2020 in Shanghai, China.
16. We welcomed China’s support for the ASEAN Smart Cities Network (ASCN) to
forge partnership in enhancing smart and sustainable urban development in the region.
We encouraged further cooperation to realise the 2019 ASEAN-China Leaders’
Statement on Smart City Cooperation Initiative through the establishment of mutually-
beneficial city partnerships between the ASCN Cities and Chinese cities, as well as
with the private sector and other relevant institutions from both sides.
17. ASEAN Leaders expressed appreciation for China’s support in enhancing
ASEAN Connectivity and welcomed further cooperation to implement the Master Plan
on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) 2025 and the ASEAN-China Joint Statement on
Synergising the MPAC 2025 and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) adopted in
November 2019. We looked forward to the implementation of such cooperation in an
open, inclusive, transparent and mutually beneficial manner. We looked forward to
working towards the full liberalisation of the ASEAN-China Air Transport Agreement
(AC-ATA), which will further enhance regional connectivity. We welcomed the progress
made in the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation (MLC) and encouraged greater linkages
and contribution of the MLC to ASEAN’s common goals of development. We look
forward to fostering greater connectivity between the regions of Western China and
ASEAN through the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Connectivity Initiative-ILSTC (CCI-
ILSTC).
18. We appreciated China’s support in narrowing the development gap within
ASEAN through the implementation of the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) Work
Plan III (2016-2020), and to top up the ASEAN-China grant for IAI to fund the
“Enhancing the Capacity of Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratories in Cambodia and
Myanmar” project. We looked forward to China’s continued support for the
implementation of the IAI Work Plan IV (2021-2025). We welcomed China’s efforts to
support ASEAN’s efforts in narrowing the development gap, promoting sustainable and
equitable development.
19. We recalled our agreement at the 22nd ASEAN-China Summit to explore
partnership on blue economy as envisaged in the ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership
Vision 2030 and to task our officials to continue studying the said proposal.
20. We commend the development of the ASEAN Development Outlook report
guided by the theme Inclusive and Sustainable Development. Its forward-looking
analysis will inform our strategic development cooperation. Encouraged by the report,
we reaffirm our commitment to work together in further strengthening our collective
knowledge towards evidence-informed policy planning and implementation. We looked
forward to the online conduct of the ASEAN-China-UNDP 2020 Symposium:
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Enhancing the Roles of Youth in Achieving the SDGs.
21. We reaffirmed the commitment to closer people-to-people exchanges
including through culture, education, tourism and media, with a view to promoting
mutual trust and understanding between the people of ASEAN and China. We
encouraged ASEAN and China to strengthen cooperation in the tourism sector by
developing new strategic cooperation measures, including innovative ways to
revitalize the tourism industry through available platforms, particularly the ASEAN-
China Centre. We agreed to further leverage the role of the ASEAN-China
Cooperation Fund and noted with appreciation the on-going implementation of the
ASEAN-China Young Leaders’ Scholarship (ACYLS). We noted the conduct of the
“ASEAN-China Cooperation on Poverty Alleviation against the Backdrop of the COVID-
19 Pandemic”, "Future of Labor in ASEAN and China: Challenges and Responses"
and “Advancing Regional Cooperation on Managing Digital Platforms: Implications and
Ways Forward for ASEAN and China in the New Normal” by the Network of ASEAN-
China Think-Tanks (NACT) this year.
22. We exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest and
concern. We reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, security,
stability, safety and freedom of navigation in and overflight above the South China Sea,
and recognised the benefits of having the South China Sea as a sea of peace, stability
and prosperity, especially during this time in the common fight against COVID-19. We
reaffirmed the importance of upholding international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS.
We reaffirmed the need to enhance mutual trust and confidence, exercise self-restraint
in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace
and stability, and avoid actions that may further complicate the situation, as well as to
pursue peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with the universally recognised
principles of international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS. We emphasised the
importance of non-militarisation and self-restraint in the conduct of all activities by
claimants and all other states, including those mentioned in the 2002 Declaration on
the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) that could further complicate the
situation and escalate tensions in the South China Sea.
23. We underscored the importance of the full and effective implementation of DOC
in its entirety. We welcomed on-going efforts to promote the implementation of the
DOC, including confidence building measures. We warmly welcomed the continued
cooperation between ASEAN and China, and were encouraged by the progress of the
substantive negotiations towards the early conclusion of an effective and substantive
Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) in line with international law, including
1982 UNCLOS, within a mutually-agreed timeline. We acknowledged efforts
undertaken by ASEAN and China for the step-by-step resumption of the COC
negotiations, including the conduct of the Ad-hoc Video Conference of the ASEAN-
China Joint Working Group on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct
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of Parties in the South China Sea. We emphasised the need to maintain and promote
an environment conducive to the COC negotiations, and thus welcomed practical
measures that could reduce tensions and the risk of accidents, misunderstandings and
miscalculation.
24. We welcomed the designation of 2021 as the ASEAN-China Year of
Sustainable Development Cooperation with key areas including poverty alleviation,
disaster prevention and mitigation, climate change and environmental protection,
noting that the issues concerning sustainable development in all dimensions are crucial
and ASEAN-China cooperation would contribute to the implementation of the UN 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development. We looked forward to concrete projects and
programmes under the Year of Sustainable Development Cooperation, including
through the collaborative work of the ASEAN Centre for Sustainable Development
Studies and Dialogue (ACSDSD) in Thailand. We support ASEAN’s efforts in
promoting sustainable and equitable development across the ASEAN Community
including through aligning sub-regional growth with the comprehensive development
of ASEAN.
25. We recognised that our region is prone to natural disasters, and emphasised
the need to forge closer collaboration in disaster management, support regional and
sub-regional capacities in disaster management and emergency response. We
welcomed works towards the establishment of a ministerial meeting mechanism on
disaster management between ASEAN and China to better cope with natural disasters.
We looked forward to the finalisation of the Framework of ASEAN-China Environmental
Cooperation Strategy and Action Plan (2021-2025). In this connection, we emphasised
the need for ASEAN and China to enhance cooperation in areas related to sustainable
development which may include ecologically friendly urban development, air and water
quality management, sustainable water resources management, food security,
improvement of livelihoods of the poor, and poverty eradication.
26. As we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations
in 2021, we are confident that ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership will continue to be
one of the most dynamic and substantive partnerships of ASEAN and we look forward
to strengthening our partnership, one that is forward-looking and mutually-beneficial.
We agreed to undertake consultations on the proposed establishment of a
Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between ASEAN and China. We also looked
forward to the commemoration of the 30th Anniversary of ASEAN-China Dialogue
Relations in 2021.
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