On April 19, 2016, guests of diplomats from China and ASEAN countries to ASEAN visited the Institute of International and Strategic Studies (IISS), Peking University (PKU). Prof. Yuan Ming, Vice President of IISS, Dean of Yenching Academy and some faculties and students from the School of International Studies (SIS) and the School of Foreign Languages (SFL) of PKU attended the meeting and symposium. 

Prof. Yuan Ming welcomed the delegation of senior ASEAN diplomats to visit PKU. IISS was the second stop of their visit. She hoped that they could participate in the symposium with PKU’s teachers and students engaging in study of Southeast Asia and express their views as much as possible, providing advice for the development of China-ASEAN relations. Ambassador Norng Sakal, Permanent Representative of Cambodia to ASEAN responded to Prof. Yuan Ming’s speech and thanked PKU for providing such a communication platform.

Zhai Kun, Senior Research Fellow of IISS, PKU and professor of SIS, PKU made a keynote speech entitled “China and ASEAN: Regional Cooperation and Challenges”. He firstly put forward the concept of “ASEAN Power”, pinpointing that the influence of ASEAN countries is growing in PKU. Besides the illustrious alumni coming from Southeast Asian countries such as Princess Sirindhorn of Thailand, two Southeast Asian students who once corresponded with Premier Li Keqiang dined with the Premier when he visited PKU last week and so on. He sincerely hoped that Southeast Asian countries can further encourage their local students to study in China. So far, the relations between the two sides have gone through two stages of development, to wit 1991-2004 and 2005-present. As Premier Li Keqiang said, the past is the “Golden Decade” and there will be a “Diamond Decade” in the future. While there is still a lot of room for further improvement in many structural areas, such as economy, security, etc., the mechanism of China-ASEAN Summit is of great significance and may even further provide a platform of security dialogues for major powers in the region.

Prof. Wu Jiewei, Vice President of SFL, PKU introduced the people-to-people exchanges between PKU and ASEAN to the guests. He pointed out that, as Prof. Zhai mentioned, ASESN is growing its influence on Chinese students. Most of the present faculties and students had either visited or once conducted field research in ASEAN countries. The influence of students is more diversified and extensive. Apart from participating in academic research, they played a role in Confucius Institute, cultural exchanges and many Track 2 diplomacy areas. The active presence of teachers and students engaging in study of Southeast Asia can be seen in many occasions of China-ASEAN exchanges. He indicated that policies of China and PKU especially encourage students to take the initiative to go to ASEAN countries for exchanges, experience local cultures and contact people. With rich cases and vivid materials, his introduction resonated throughout the audience.

During the free discussion, ASEAN diplomats expressed their views respectively from the perspectives of their own countries, the diplomatic relations between ASEAN and China and so on. Ambassador Tan Hung Seng, Permanent Representative of Singapore to ASEAN, analyzed the concept of “balance”; Ambassador Dato’ Hasnudin, Permanent Representative of Malaysia to ASEAN, mentioned the importance of the rise of China to regional relations; Ambassador Pramono, Permanent Representative of Indonesia to ASEAN, focused on the construction of trust; Ambassador Nguyen Hoanh Nam, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to ASEAN, stressed the importance of education in promoting bilateral relations; Ambassador Keomany, Permanent Representative of Lao PDR to ASEAN, talked about the quality, quantity and sustainability in bilateral relations. Besides, Ma Xuemin and Guan Hao, two graduate students from SFL, PKU studying Southeast Asia, shared their learning experience and feeling and extended greetings and thanks with proficient Indonesian and Vietnamese to Ambassadors of the corresponding countries at the invitation of Prof. Yuan Ming.

Ambassador Xu Bu, Head of the Mission of China to ASEAN, made concluding remarks jointly with Prof. Yuan Ming. Ambassador Xu Bu stated that China and ASEAN share common destiny and future. He was very pleased that we can reach a consensus and believed that none of the problems at this stage should affect the fruitful and promising bilateral relations. Prof. Yuan Ming summed up the repeatedly mentioned concept of “Balance”. She believed that Chinese people have their own unique understanding of this concept. The visit of such a high-level delegation of ASEAN and the offering of so many diverse and rich opinions are very helpful for the bilateral future of China-ASEAN. Diversity has been existed for centuries in relations between China and Southeast Asian countries. Only with further efforts to promote cooperation, can we build a future full of regional peace and stability.