On the 19th, ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn said at the 2025 Jakarta Forum on ASEAN-China Relations that the five strategic areas of digital economy, green transition, supply chain resilience, transport connectivity, and tourism cooperation will reshape the future of ASEAN-China relations.
According to Xinhua News Agency, Kao Kim Hourn said that since China became ASEAN's comprehensive dialogue partner in 1996, cooperation between the two sides has yielded fruitful results: In 2002, they began to establish the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area; in 2020, they signed the world's largest Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP); and in 2021, they upgraded bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
Kao Kim Hourn said that ASEAN has 480 million internet users, making it one of the fastest-growing digital markets in the world. China's vast digital ecosystem and leading platforms will provide strong support for cooperation between the two sides. With the imminent official signing of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area 3.0 upgrade protocol, both sides should focus on promoting cooperation in areas such as digital trade, cross-border e-commerce, and electronic payment, and seize global trends such as artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things, and cloud services. Together they can cultivate unicorn companies and tech giants, building the region into an innovation high ground.
Kao Kim Hourn believes that China's global leadership in renewable energy and green infrastructure is forming a strategic synergy with ASEAN's green transition. The two sides should jointly build a green ecosystem through policy alignment, investment, and technology transfer.
Kao Kim Hourn said that the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area 3.0 and RCEP will become key platforms to enhance supply chain resilience. The upgraded free trade agreement will optimize rules of origin, customs procedures, and digital trade provisions, while RCEP will promote cross-border resource allocation through its extensive network of member states. The synergy of the two will enhance the regional trade's risk resilience.
Kao Kim Hourn also stated that there is still huge potential for ASEAN and China to cooperate in multi-modal transport such as railways, highways, and shipping, and looks forward to continued financial and technical support from China through the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Regarding tourism cooperation, Kao Kim Hourn said that China's recent rollout of a multiple-entry visa policy for business people from ASEAN member states and Timor-Leste is a strong complement to the existing visa-free arrangements. Deepening tourism cooperation can not only promote people-to-people connectivity but also create economic benefits for micro, small, and medium enterprises and local communities.