Jakarta forum spotlights new engines, opportunities for ASEAN – China ties
The forum featured two in-depth discussion sessions, engaging representatives from governments, think tanks, and businesses from both ASEAN and China, on how to forge closer ties for a common future.
The Jakarta Forum on ASEAN – China Relations, themed “New Areas, New Engines, and New Opportunities”, was held in Indonesia on June 19.
The event brought together representatives from governments, research institutes, and the private sector across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China to explore ways for building a more cohesive ASEAN – China community with a shared future.
In her remarks, Chinese Ambassador to ASEAN Hou Yanqi highlighted China’s growing role in emerging industries, particularly the digital economy, electric vehicles, industrial robotics, and 5G technology. She affirmed China’s readiness to deepen international cooperation through global initiatives on artificial intelligence governance and green development.
Ambassador Hou noted that cooperation between China and ASEAN in digital transformation, innovation, and sustainable development has yielded significant results, with emerging industries becoming a strategic pillar driving more substantive and comprehensive collaboration going forward.
Amid global economic uncertainties, rising protectionism, and challenges to multilateralism, she stressed the importance of strengthening dialogue and cooperation between China and ASEAN to jointly address shared risks and challenges.
ASEAN Secretary-General Dr. Kao Kim Hourn identified five strategic areas that will be pivotal in redefining the future of ASEAN – China relations: the digital economy, green transition, supply chain connectivity and resilience, transport connectivity, and tourism cooperation. He encouraged China to continue extending financial and technical support to ASEAN, particularly through the Belt and Road Initiative.
The forum featured two in-depth discussion sessions, engaging representatives from governments, think tanks, and businesses from both ASEAN and China, on how to forge closer ties for a common future.
The event is expected to enhance multistakeholder dialogue and help translate the shared vision between ASEAN and China into concrete action, opening new areas of cooperation, driving fresh growth engines, and unlocking new opportunities for citizens and businesses in the region.
China has been ASEAN’s largest trading partner since 2009 while ASEAN became China’s largest trading partner in 2020. Two-way trade surged from 105.9 billion USD in 2004 to 770 billion USD in 2024, accounting for 20% of ASEAN’s total trade. Over the same period, China’s foreign direct investment (FDI) in ASEAN rose more than 80-fold, from 226 million USD to 18.4 billion USD, making China ASEAN’s fourth-largest source of FDI in 2024./.
