Officials, scholars, business leaders, representatives from 14 countries, including Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, and South Korea, as well as representatives of international organizations, highlighted the urgency of enhancing the cooperation of blue economy between China and ASEAN countries under the framework of RCEP during a forum held in Haikou, South China’s Hainan Province on Sunday.
The forum, titled “China-ASEAN Blue Economy Cooperation Dialogue: Forging a Strategic Hub for the Big and Shared China-ASEAN Blue Economy Market— The Strategic Task of ‘Creating a New Maritime Hainan'” was co-hosted by Hainan Institute for Free Trade Port Studies, China Oceanic Development Foundation and China Foreign Affairs University.Amid a changing global landscape, how to overcome differences, enhance mutual trust, and achieve common development has become an urgent issue facing all Asian countries. China and ASEAN have already formed a closely interconnected relationship in which “our interests are deeply intertwined.” The key to breaking through current challenges lies in continuing to cultivate shared interests, with the blue economy serving as one of the largest areas of common interest, Gao Fei, president of China Foreign Affairs University, said at the forum.
