A scene from the 11th China-ASEAN Think Tank Strategic Dialogue Forum in Nanning, the capital of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Sept 18, 2018.  (WEN ZONGDUO / CHINA DAILY)

NANNING – China-ASEAN partnership serves as an anchor of regional stability, and the mutual benefits yielded from their exemplary consensus-building point to common prosperity amid tumultuous global situations, according to a think tank forum held here on Tuesday.

Further exchanges and cooperation will tap the regional potential and accelerate the upgrading of their partnership, said Chen Lisheng, president of Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences at the 11th China-ASEAN Think Tank Strategic Dialogue Forum.

The China-ASEAN partnership is the anchor of regional stability. 

Zhang Yantong, Vice Chairman, Counsellors’ Office of the State Council

“China and ASEAN have the common prospects for stability and prosperity” amid uncertainties of world economy and emerging trade protectionism in some parts of the world, said Zhang Yantong, vice chairman of Counsellors’ Office of the State Council (COSC). 

“The China-ASEAN partnership is the anchor of regional stability,” Zhang told the forum. Moreover, innovation is the accelerator while people-to-people connectivity is an important component, he added.

Amphayvanh Khamsengsivilay, vice president of Lao Academy of Social Sciences, thinks the more changeable era requires more of conceptual understanding, joint undertaking of responsibilities and sharing of fruits.

A closer China-ASEAN community not only consolidates the basis for a long-term friendship, but also brings rare opportunities for both sides to match their development strategies, she said at the forum.

The strategic partnership of China and ASEAN and the new version of the present Silk Road (the Belt and Road Initiative), are becoming a new driving force of world economy, she said, adding that China-Laos friendship will help deepen regional cooperation with their diversified culture.

Pham Van Duc, vice president of Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, said the development of the relations and cooperation between the two sides have been going smoothly “except some misunderstandings and differences such as lack of mutual trust and the disputes on the South China Sea”. 

“These setbacks would be resolved by (building) mutual trust, benefits and understanding for development, stability and peace in the region and the world,” he said.

Li Xiangyang, director general of National Institute of International Strategy with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said there is the need to adhere to the correct perseverance concept in promoting the sustainable development of the Belt and Road Initiative.

The initiative is not equal to China Aid as taken by some people, and enterprises, which aims at profits for mere survival, are the major players, Li said.

China may benefit from the initiative by opening more opportunities for its enterprises and increasing its soft power, but only “a balance of national influence at the macro level and corporate earnings at the micro level will sustain the initiative”, he told the forum.

Li also proposed the engaged partners to pay attention to the relationships between “transfusing and producing blood” meaning offering aid and building capacity, between giving and taking, and between long-term and short-term benefits.

Han Dachuan, deputy secretary general of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, also noted that the BRI paved ways not only for economic cooperation, but also for people-to-people exchanges.

The consensus-building of think tanks promotes the consensus of governments and peoples, and their cooperation will lead to cooperation of other sectors, according to Yang Jinghua, deputy director of the Standing Committee of the NPC of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

She also called for the region to match their strategies, innovate mechanisms, and upgrade channels of connectivity, adding that Guangxi has entered an era of comprehensive opening in all directions, linking with both southern neighbors across the border and other parts of the country.

This year has been special to the region as 2018 marks the 15th anniversary for China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership, the starting year for the second China-ASEAN 50-year development, the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up, and the fifth anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative. 

Other speakers included Sum Chhum Bun, vice president of Royal Academy of Cambodia; Tang Min, Counsellor of the State Council; BA Hamzah, director for International Security Research Centre at National Defence University of Malaysia; Tang Nong, president of Guangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine; Kyee Myint, member of Myanmar Institute of Strategic and International Studies; and Yan Jiehe, honorary chairman of Zhuangyan Think Tank Institute, founder of Pacific Construction Group, president of Wuwei Academy.

The 11th China-ASEAN Think Tank Strategic Dialogue Forum was jointly sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Counsellors’ Office of the State Council and the People’s Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Co-organizers include the Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences, Counsellors’ Office of the People’s Government of Guangxi and the China-ASEAN Expo Secretariat.