China and ASEAN build community with common future – Opinion

The start of the new decade was marked by the outbreak of COVID-19. The battle against it has now come to a critical time when the positive and the negative coexist and the containment window narrows. The future of humanity is, once again, closely intertwined in the face of an epidemic.

China and ASEAN, as close neighbors, have been tested for two months. The even closer friendly ties between our peoples will further energize the construction of a closer China-ASEAN community with a common future.

China and ASEAN are leading the fight against COVID-19. As Chinese President Xi Jinping said, China always puts people's lives and health first. Under the energetic leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China with Comrade Xi at its heart, a full deployment of epidemic prevention and control was carried out immediately after the epidemic, including many unprecedented creative measures.

Significant progress has been made so far. The number of new confirmed cases in provinces other than Hubei has remained overall below 10, and emergency response measures in many provinces have dropped from level I to level III. In Hubei, the number of new confirmed cases in cities other than Wuhan has now dropped to less than 10.

Wuhan is now at the most crucial stage of the battle. The number of his confirmed cases has risen from more than 1,000 in the first half of February to more than 100 in recent days and is expected to continue its route down to zero in the near future.

China has accumulated a lot of experience in this fight that other countries might find useful. China's performance, which is very encouraging indeed, will considerably strengthen the confidence of other countries to fight and win. China's efforts have not only protected the health and safety of the Chinese people, but have also greatly contributed to global health security.

The Chinese government is taking coordinated action to contain the epidemic and advance economic and social development. President Xi Jinping said the negative impact of the epidemic on the Chinese economy will be temporary and short-lived. The fundamentals supporting strong economic growth have not changed and will not change.

Thanks to the country's great resilience, robust domestic demand and a solid industrial base, we are fully confident and able to achieve this year's economic and social development goals and move closer to our longer-term goals.

The prevention and control of epidemics in ASEAN member states has also been remarkable. The situation in Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia has been brought under effective control and no new cases have been reported in Cambodia and the Philippines for more than two consecutive weeks.

The World Health Organization highly praised the efforts of the ASEAN countries. Some ASEAN members have adopted economic stimulus policies to minimize the negative impact of the epidemic.

China has provided ASEAN and the rest of the international community with up-to-date information on the epidemic in a spirit of openness and transparency. The special videoconference of the ASEAN Plus Three Senior Officials Meeting (China, Japan and the Republic of Korea) on health development was held on February 3 to share information and good practices.

As close neighbors, ASEAN member states have provided China with strong and timely material and moral support. Heads of State or Government or Foreign Ministers of all ASEAN members expressed sympathy, support and solidarity to the Chinese government and people through appeals telephone, messages and visits. The President of Statement on the collective response of ASEAN to the 2019 coronavirus epidemic, released on February 15, expressed strong ASEAN support for China and underscored the spirit of a coherent and responsive ASEAN community facing this challenge.

On February 20, the special meeting of ASEAN and Chinese foreign ministers was held in Vientiane. As the first multilateral meeting on COVID-19, the event highlighted the tradition between China and ASEAN of standing side by side and helping each other in difficult times as well as our deep friendship formed by sharing good and unhappiness. The ministers reached an important consensus on the joint China-ASEAN response to the epidemic. They agreed to work together at this critical time and set an example for global cooperation in the fight against the epidemic.

In 2013, President Xi proposed to build a tightly united China-ASEAN community with a common future during his visit to Indonesia. Over the years, China and ASEAN have never stopped working towards this goal.

We promote good neighborliness and strengthen political and strategic mutual trust. We are pursuing win-win cooperation for common development and shared prosperity. We stand firmly alongside each other to outweigh the risks and challenges.

We maintain close interpersonal ties based on our centuries-old friendship. We stand for openness and inclusiveness to build more diverse and harmonious societies, to name a few. These tireless efforts have propelled China-ASEAN relations into a new stage of global development.

The joint fight against COVID-19 has raised awareness in China and ASEAN of the importance and urgency of building a community with a common future. The awareness itself will be a powerful boost to the growth of the still promising Sino-Asian relations.

In the current circumstances, China and ASEAN must continue to cooperate closely in epidemic control and public health, in order to defeat the epidemic as soon as possible and protect health and well-being populations. In the meantime, it is important for us to seize the opportunity and justify our major cooperation program with concrete initiatives for more visible benefits for the population.

Such progress will materialize and further expand our relations, create conditions conducive to the strengthening of our relations at the eagerly awaited 30th anniversary of our dialogue process in 2021 and give new impetus to a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.

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Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to ASEAN

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of The Jakarta Post.