Beijing, 3 August 2021 (TDI): Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the China-ASEAN (10+1) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Tuesday.
He talked about the remarkable China-ASEAN trade and investment cooperation and said China and ASEAN have overcome the impact of the epidemic, maintained a green channel for the movement of goods, established a fast channel for convenient personnel exchanges with many countries, and maintained the safety, stability, and smooth flow of the regional industrial chain, adding that the policy dividend of the two parties’ free trade agreement upgrade “Protocol” continues to be released. ASEAN continues to be China’s largest trading partner. The total mutual investment between the two sides has exceeded 310 billion U.S. dollars, leading the way.
Another topic that Wang discussed in the meeting was the COVID-19 pandemic and the Chinese vaccine cooperation towards the world. He said that ASEAN is China’s primary partner in anti-epidemic cooperation and China has provided more than 190 million doses to the ten ASEAN countries so far. He shared that the two parties have launched the China-ASEAN Public Health Cooperation Initiative, constantly improving the “China-ASEAN Vaccine Friends” platform, and promoting vaccine policy communication and information sharing.
Lastly, the foreign minister talked about jointly maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea. Wang Yi pointed out that China’s sovereign rights and interests in the South China Sea conform to international law including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. China has never made any new claims, but it will certainly stick to its consistent position so far. With the joint efforts of China and ASEAN, the situation in the South China Sea has maintained overall stability, and the freedom of navigation and overflight is protected in accordance with the law. He also said that the foreign interfering forces cannot be allowed to disrupt the good situation of peace and stability in the region.
